Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Price Target Cut to $14.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Mizuho from $16.00 to $14.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential upside of 196.61% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VSTM. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Verastem from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.60.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $4.72 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Verastem has a 12 month low of $4.01 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $414.75 million, a PE ratio of -1.75 and a beta of 0.34.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.85 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 486.40% and a negative net margin of 391.17%. Equities research analysts expect that Verastem will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Torray Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,671,000. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 2,615,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338,600 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Verastem by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 590,184 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,211,000 after acquiring an additional 192,429 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Verastem by 3,333.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 390,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 378,958 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $1,346,000. 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.