Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.89.

Several research firms have weighed in on VSTM. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Verastem by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the third quarter valued at $41,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verastem Trading Up 15.7 %

NASDAQ:VSTM traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.74. 1,158,797 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 975,939. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.55 million, a P/E ratio of -1.80 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.95 and a 200 day moving average of $5.03. Verastem has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $13.52.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). On average, research analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

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.