Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price target increased by research analysts at Guggenheim from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 101.64% from the company’s previous close.

VSTM has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research upped their target price 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. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.88.

Verastem Stock Up 4.4 %

VSTM opened at $6.94 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.01 million, a P/E ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. Verastem has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $13.52.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,988 shares of company stock valued at $53,608. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Verastem by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, FMR LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verastem

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.