Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.38.

VSTM has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock.

Verastem Trading Down 9.8 %

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $5.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $262.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. Verastem has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $14.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.44.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, research analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 546.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 47,094 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 67.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 359,060 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Verastem in the third quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Verastem by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 65,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.