Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Verastem from $21.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Verastem from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.57.

Verastem Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $3.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $168.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.28 and a 200-day moving average of $3.96. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $14.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 546.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 359,060 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 3rd quarter valued at $112,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verastem by 18.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 65,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Verastem by 62.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 11,642 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.