Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $16.00 to $14.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 109.74% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VSTM. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.38.

Verastem Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of VSTM stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $6.68. The stock had a trading volume of 471,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,010. Verastem has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $13.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $297.08 million, a PE ratio of -2.09 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.58.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). Research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,988 shares of company stock worth $53,608. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Walleye Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 493.7% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 179,725 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verastem by 67.6% during the third 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. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Verastem by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,352 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Verastem by 546.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 47,094 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Verastem during the third quarter valued at $112,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.