Short Interest in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Increases By 59.5%

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,930,000 shares, a growth of 59.5% from the December 31st total of 3,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 12.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,321 shares of company stock valued at $52,217. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter worth about $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Verastem by 55.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 104.6% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Verastem by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 11,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM opened at $6.22 on Friday. Verastem has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $14.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.73. 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 (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSTM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.38.

Verastem Company Profile

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.