Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given New $9.00 Price Target at B. Riley

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its target price lifted by B. Riley from $7.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, January 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.63.

Verastem Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $6.08 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.16 and a 200-day moving average of $3.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $14.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. Analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,321 shares of company stock worth $52,217. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verastem by 104.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 10,457 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 46.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 103,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 32,791 shares during the period. FMR LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem in the 3rd quarter worth $3,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

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.