Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM – Get Free Report) shares traded down 4.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.53 and last traded at $9.53. 580,218 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,967,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VSTM. Zacks Research cut shares of Verastem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. B. Riley raised shares of Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Verastem

Verastem Stock Down 5.8%

The stock has a market cap of $629.70 million, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.14 and its 200 day moving average is $7.75.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $11.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.76 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other news, Director Michael Kauffman sold 8,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $85,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,666 shares in the company, valued at $86,660. The trade was a 49.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total value of $32,132.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,087.32. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 43,772 shares of company stock worth $434,165 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Verastem by 9.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 182.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Verastem by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also