Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.55 and traded as high as $7.22. Verastem shares last traded at $6.71, with a volume of 615,857 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price 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 target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.63.

Verastem Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.54 million, a PE ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 0.60.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,053 shares of company stock valued at $53,890. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Verastem by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verastem

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.