Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $4.05 and traded as high as $5.87. Verastem shares last traded at $5.68, with a volume of 505,293 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Verastem Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $252.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.78 and a beta of 0.28. 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’s fifty day moving average is $5.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.06.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,367 shares of company stock worth $53,990. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at $20,400,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $13,778,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem in the third quarter valued at about $3,918,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter worth about $4,653,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter worth about $4,103,000. Institutional investors 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.