Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Earns "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $7.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.00.

Verastem Stock Up 4.2 %

Verastem stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.44. The stock had a trading volume of 471,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,533. The company has a market cap of $197.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.22. The business's 50 day moving average price is $4.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.30. Verastem has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $14.22. 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 (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in Verastem by 493.7% during the third 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 period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,192,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 104.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth about $203,000. 88.37% of the stock is 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.