Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Short Interest Update

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a drop of 44.5% from the May 31st total of 2,380,000 shares. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 685,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Verastem Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of VSTM traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,912,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,967. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.80 and a fifty-two week high of $14.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.62. The stock has a market cap of $75.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.10). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 116.7% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,300,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,569,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verastem during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,653,000. Citigroup Inc. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the third quarter worth approximately $245,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the first quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,160,931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,699,000 after acquiring an additional 10,678 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VSTM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verastem from $32.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Alliance Global Partners cut their price target on Verastem from $34.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

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.