Verastem price target raised to $19 from $15 at Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Kelly Shi raised the firm’s price target on Verastem (VSTM) to $19 from $15 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company received FDA approval for the avutometinib plus defactinib combo more than a month ahead of the PDUFA deadline of June 30. With the approval, the combination becomes the first approved therapy in the rare ovarian cancer of recurrent KRAS mutant LGSOC, the analyst noted. Physician feedback suggests “strong adoption enthusiasm” and the firm sees a $402M U.S. opportunity in KRAS mutant low-grade serous ovarian cancer alone, the analyst tells investors.