Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.57 EPS

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.57), Zacks reports.

Verastem Trading Down 2.4 %

Verastem stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $6.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 426,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 907,561. Verastem has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $13.52. The stock has a market cap of $303.05 million, a PE ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.98 and a 200-day moving average of $4.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,053 shares of company stock valued at $53,890. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, January 24th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.63.

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.