Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a decline of 44.5% from the May 31st total of 2,380,000 shares. Currently, 6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 685,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,160,931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,699,000 after purchasing an additional 10,678 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at about $131,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Verastem by 114,375.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 9,150 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Sectoral Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,653,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VSTM shares. StockNews.com raised Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Verastem from $32.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Alliance Global Partners decreased their price target on Verastem from $34.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

Verastem Stock Up 2.8 %

Verastem stock opened at $2.98 on Friday. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.80 and a fifty-two week high of $14.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 4.40 and a current ratio of 4.40. The company has a market capitalization of $75.47 million, a P/E ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.64.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by ($0.10). Equities research analysts expect that Verastem will post -4.14 earnings per share 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.