BVF Inc. IL Raises Stock Position in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

BVF Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,404,425 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,303,957 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL owned about 5.53% of Verastem worth $14,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Verastem by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the second quarter valued at $90,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the second quarter valued at about $106,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Verastem by 35.9% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 7,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VSTM. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Mizuho set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.29.

Verastem Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $9.61 on Friday. Verastem, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.17 and a 200 day moving average of $7.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $641.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 0.41.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $11.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.76 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Kauffman sold 8,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $85,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,660. This represents a 49.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total value of $32,132.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 438,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,087.32. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 45,772 shares of company stock worth $454,305 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verastem 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.