Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Now Covered by HC Wainwright

Equities research analysts at HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 185.71% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.83.

Verastem Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $6.30 on Wednesday. Verastem has a 1 year low of $4.01 and a 1 year high of $11.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 0.41.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $11.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.76 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total value of $36,079.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,788.04. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Kauffman sold 8,550 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $85,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,660. The trade was a 49.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,508 shares of company stock worth $455,556. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Verastem by 2,995.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 351,569 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 340,212 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $106,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $550,000. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth $8,864,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.