Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Trading Up 6% – Still a Buy?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)’s stock price was up 6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $6.25 and last traded at $6.2450. Approximately 890,973 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 2,263,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VSTM. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

Verastem Trading Up 4.7%

The stock has a market cap of $541.72 million, a PE ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.46.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verastem by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 347,872 shares during the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 715.1% in the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 108,260 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 100,123 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Verastem by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 110,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 14,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.