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, …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Operating Leverage in EffectOperating leverage is evident (score 0.67), with margins expanding over time.
Key risks
ROIC Below WACC or PeersROIC at 27.2th percentile suggests inefficient capital deployment.
Commodity Pressure / Weak DifferentiationGross margin at 39.6th percentile with high volatility suggests weak pricing power or commoditized products.
The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks
against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.
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Verastem, Inc. ranks #430 of 713
scored companies in Biotechnology by moat score — the top 60%.
The widest moat in the group is Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX)
at 85/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near VSTM in Biotechnology
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 48
· 15% of the moat score
A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.
Customer Stickiness
Score 44
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 9
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 34
· 17% of the moat score
Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.
Scale & Market Position
Score 54
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
Verastem, Inc. (VSTM) scores 36 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #430 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology, the top 60%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 712 companies in Biotechnology. Its strongest defense is Scale & Market Position (54/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (9/100).
How does Verastem, Inc. compare with other Biotechnology companies?
Verastem, Inc. ranks #430 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology by moat score. The widest moat in Biotechnology is Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX) at 85/100. The companies ranked closest are Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (WINT) at 36 just above it and Immunome, Inc. (IMNM) at 36 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 712 companies in Biotechnology. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Verastem, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?
Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.
Which competitive defenses are measured for Verastem, Inc.?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and VSTM scores: Pricing Power (32), Cost Advantage (48), Customer Stickiness (44), Capital Efficiency (9), Resilience (34), Scale & Market Position (54). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.
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