Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Trading 6.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)’s share price rose 6.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $7.02 and last traded at $7.00. Approximately 1,119,111 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 2,233,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VSTM shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $672.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.79 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. The business had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 26,262 shares of company stock worth $111,897 in the last three months. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position in shares of 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. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the 1st quarter worth $10,600,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $15,440,000. SymBiosis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,440,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,440,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.