Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.27), Zacks reports. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. The company had revenue of $24.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.57 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Verastem’s conference call:

• Third-quarter net product revenue was $24 million, up 114% year over year. Refills were strong, but new patient starts moderated after substantial Q2 growth; management said quarterly starts can fluctuate and expects continued growth as physician adoption broadens.
• The FDA accepted the new blister-pack NDA for priority review, with a February 2027 PDUFA date. If approved, the presentation would reduce pill burden, eliminate refrigeration, and make dosing and storage easier—changes the company believes could support adherence and time on therapy.
• Verastem reported encouraging early VS-7375 results in KRAS G12D cancers, including a 50% confirmed response rate in second-line pancreatic cancer, as well as activity in colorectal and lung cancer. The company also highlighted a manageable safety profile, while noting the data remain early and based on relatively small patient groups.
• The company reached FDA agreement on its first-line pancreatic cancer Phase III trial, which it plans to start by year-end 2026; it aims to begin first-line colorectal and lung Phase III trials in the first half of 2027. The pancreatic trial includes response rate and progression-free survival as dual primary endpoints, but the company said accelerated approval based on response rate is not assured.
• Verastem raised about $250 million in gross proceeds in October, bringing pro forma quarter-end cash to $422.8 million and extending its expected runway into the first half of 2028. Adjusted net loss widened to $72.8 million from $39.1 million a year earlier as the company continued investing in its clinical program.

Verastem Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $9.38 on Friday. Verastem has a 1-year low of $3.43 and a 1-year 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 cap of $849.45 million, a P/E ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.24.

Key Stories Impacting Verastem

Here are the key news stories impacting Verastem this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verastem’s third-quarter loss narrowed to $0.74 per share from $1.35 per share a year earlier, showing year-over-year improvement despite the earnings miss. Zacks report
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares for about $12,470, a 0.20% reduction in his holdings. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and he retained more than 651,000 shares. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted an updated presentation on its oncology programs; the report did not describe specific new developments that would materially alter the outlook. Presentation update
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results fell short of forecasts: the loss was $0.74 per share versus an expected $0.47, while revenue of $24.0 million was below the roughly $26.6 million consensus. The earnings and revenue misses are the clearest potential pressure on VSTM. Quarterly results

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VSTM shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up from $14.00) on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,221,696. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 48,041 shares of company stock valued at $386,390 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

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.