Short Interest in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Rises By 31.0%

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,620,000 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the November 30th total of 2,000,000 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 983,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Verastem Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM opened at $3.64 on Monday. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.01 million, a P/E ratio of -1.14 and a beta of 0.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly 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, research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. FMR LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the third quarter worth about $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Verastem by 55.4% in 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 during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 104.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter valued at $82,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Verastem in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.00.

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.