Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Price Target Raised to $9.00 at Mizuho

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its target price upped by Mizuho from $7.00 to $9.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

Verastem Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $4.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $197.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.30. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Verastem has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $14.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Verastem by 546.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 67.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 359,060 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Verastem in the third quarter worth $112,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verastem by 18.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 65,265 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 11,642 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verastem Company Profile

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.