Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $4.05 and traded as high as $5.87. Verastem shares last traded at $5.68, with a volume of 505,293 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.63.

Verastem Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.80 million, a P/E ratio of -1.78 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 10,367 shares of company stock worth $53,990 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Verastem by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management boosted its position in Verastem by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Verastem by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.