HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its target price upped by HC Wainwright from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VSTM. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.83.

Verastem Stock Down 10.3%

VSTM traded down $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.41. The stock had a trading volume of 7,038,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,734,603. The company has a market capitalization of $761.61 million, a PE ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 0.45. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.43 and a twelve month high of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.25.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $24.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.57 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. On average, research analysts predict that Verastem will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,221,696. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 48,041 shares of company stock worth $386,390 over the last 90 days. 1.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Verastem by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 56,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 27,273 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $122,000. Aries Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 6.5% in the third quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 32,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the second quarter worth about $6,876,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Verastem this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its price target from $18 to $20 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in Verastem’s prospects. HC Wainwright rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its target from $19 to $18 but kept its Outperform rating. The reduced target is a modest caution, while the rating remains supportive. RBC rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, a sale equal to about 0.2% of his holdings; he still owned more than 651,000 shares afterward. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Verastem posted an updated corporate presentation on its oncology programs, but the available report did not specify material new developments. Presentation update
• Negative Sentiment: Verastem reported a Q3 loss of $0.74 per share, wider than the roughly $0.47 consensus loss, while revenue of $24.0 million missed estimates of about $26.6 million. The loss narrowed from $1.35 per share a year earlier, but the quarterly misses were the clearest near-term pressure on the stock. Q3 results

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancer. The company’s research is centered on tumors driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which can promote cancer-cell growth and resistance to treatment.

Verastem’s leading product candidates include avutometinib, an oral RAF/MEK clamp designed to inhibit signaling within the RAS/MAPK pathway, and defactinib, an oral focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.