Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price target hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $13.00 to $16.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

VSTM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Verastem in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.38.

Verastem Stock Down 9.8 %

VSTM stock opened at $5.90 on Tuesday. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $14.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $262.59 million, a PE ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.46.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Verastem by 493.7% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 179,725 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verastem by 67.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 359,060 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the second quarter valued at about $1,192,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 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.