Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Dan Paterson Sells 1,299 Shares of Company Stock

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.60, for a total value of $12,470.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 651,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,253,564.80. This trade represents a 0.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Dan Paterson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 1st, Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of Verastem stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM traded down $0.47 on Thursday, hitting $9.38. 3,032,681 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,675,517. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.24. The firm has a market cap of $849.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 0.45. Verastem, Inc. has a one year low of $3.43 and a one year high of $10.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.25). Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. The business had revenue of $24.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.57 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,876,000. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after acquiring an additional 234,957 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Verastem News

Here are the key news stories impacting Verastem this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verastem’s reported quarterly loss improved from $1.35 per share a year ago, though it remained larger than analysts expected. Zacks report
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares—about 0.20% of his holdings—in a transaction under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with more than 651,000 shares. The small, scheduled sale may have limited significance for investors. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted an updated corporate presentation on its oncology programs, but the report provided no specific new developments likely to change the investment outlook. Corporate presentation update
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted loss was $0.72 per share, wider than the $0.47-per-share consensus estimate. Revenue of $24.0 million also fell short of expectations of about $26.6 million. The earnings and sales misses are the clearest near-term headwinds for the stock. Third-quarter results

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VSTM. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, October 15th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Verastem from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancer. The company’s research is centered on tumors driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which can promote cancer-cell growth and resistance to treatment.

Verastem’s leading product candidates include avutometinib, an oral RAF/MEK clamp designed to inhibit signaling within the RAS/MAPK pathway, and defactinib, an oral focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.