Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given New $20.00 Price Target at BTIG Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price target upped by BTIG Research from $13.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

VSTM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Verastem in a report on Monday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.00.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM opened at $6.49 on Tuesday. Verastem has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $14.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.85 million, a PE ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 0.22. 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 (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VSTM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Verastem by 546.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verastem by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 359,060 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Verastem during the 3rd quarter worth $112,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Verastem by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 65,265 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is 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.