Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VSTM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

VSTM stock opened at $7.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.64. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.43 and a fifty-two week high of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $723.57 million, a PE ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 0.32.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. The firm had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. Analysts forecast that Verastem will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,876,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verastem by 157.2% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 347,872 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Verastem by 715.1% in the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 108,260 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Verastem by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after buying an additional 100,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company’s research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem’s principal products include avutometinib, a RAF/MEK pathway inhibitor, and defactinib, a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor. The company has studied these therapies both individually and in combination, with the goal of improving cancer-cell response and overcoming treatment resistance.