Short Interest in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Rises By 59.5%

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,930,000 shares, an increase of 59.5% from the December 31st total of 3,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 12.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $6.08. 834,619 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,105. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.16 and its 200 day moving average is $3.75. The company has a market capitalization of $270.60 million, a P/E ratio of -1.91 and a beta of 0.24. Verastem has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $14.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. Equities research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VSTM. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.63.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 10,321 shares of company stock valued at $52,217 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter valued at about $3,918,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verastem by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 359,060 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verastem by 493.7% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 179,725 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verastem by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 65,265 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Verastem by 546.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.