Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.40.

Verastem Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $6.05 on Friday. Verastem has a 12-month low of $3.43 and a 12-month high of $11.24. The stock has a market cap of $531.61 million, a P/E ratio of -2.24 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.51 and its 200-day moving average is $5.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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. 1.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Torray Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,671,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 3,333.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 390,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 378,958 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,600,000. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC raised its position in shares of Verastem by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 3,135,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,203,000 after buying an additional 520,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,093,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.