B. Riley Issues Positive Forecast for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at B. Riley from $7.00 to $9.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. B. Riley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 40.63% from the company's previous close.

VSTM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.63.

Verastem Price Performance

Verastem stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.40. The company had a trading volume of 422,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,696,871. 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 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $14.22. The company has a market capitalization of $284.86 million, a P/E ratio of -2.01 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.73.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 10,321 shares of company stock valued at $52,217 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VSTM. FMR LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the third quarter worth about $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 55.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 104.6% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10,457 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 62.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 11,642 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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