BTIF downgraded Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) to “neutral” from “buy” and removed its previous price target of $8 after the company announced that president and CEO, Robert Forrester, was stepping down. The stock closed at $1.90 on June 19.
“This marks the second high-level executive departure announced in 2019 – chief commercial officer, Joseph Lobacki, previously announced he will leave the company in 2019 – in what is a pivotal time for Copiktra’s launch,” writes analyst Robert Hazlett.
Copiktra is indicated for adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma after at least two prior therapies. Copiktra also has received accelerated approval for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after at least two prior systemic therapies.
Verastem named COO, Dan Paterson, as president and COO, and CFO, Rob Gagnon, who also will serve as chief business officer. “We believe they can steer the company quite capably in this time of transition,” Mr. Hazlett said.
“Nevertheless, the potential scale of disruption to the leadership of its operations at a critical time gives us pause, and we feel compelled to move to the sidelines for now,” he added.
Verastem also reiterated its 2019 Copiktra sales guidance of $10-million to $12- million and noted that recent prescription data shows an uptick.
