Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Makes New $20.40 Million Investment in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,945,927 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $20,400,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 8.87% of Verastem as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Verastem by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 55.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Verastem by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.89.

Verastem Stock Performance

Verastem stock opened at $6.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. The company has a market cap of $344.26 million, a P/E ratio of -2.10 and a beta of 0.85. Verastem, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $13.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $6.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.40.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.57). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Verastem Company 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.

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