Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $13.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 153.57% from the company’s current price.

VSTM has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.38.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM stock traded down $0.41 on Tuesday, hitting $6.31. 542,714 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,602,768. The firm has a market cap of $280.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.40. Verastem has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $14.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verastem by 493.7% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 179,725 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem during the second quarter valued at $1,192,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the third quarter valued at $112,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 103,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 32,791 shares during the period. 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.