Brokerages Set Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Target Price at $17.40

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.60.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VSTM shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of Verastem in a report on Monday, March 30th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $18.00 price objective on Verastem in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,788.04. This represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 10,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total value of $73,898.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 400,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,864,744.64. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,330 shares of company stock valued at $116,467 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RTW Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,576,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its holdings in Verastem by 270.7% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 3,925,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,302,000 after buying an additional 2,866,350 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verastem by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,298,000 after buying an additional 1,440,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verastem by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,720,000 after buying an additional 55,394 shares during the period. Finally, BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in Verastem by 62.1% in the second quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,404,425 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,128,000 after buying an additional 1,303,957 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Price Performance

Verastem stock opened at $5.63 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.65. Verastem has a twelve month low of $4.01 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.85 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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.