Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 184,944 Verastem shares worth approximately $706,000, giving it a 0.21% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 88.37% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $13.83, well above the reported share price of $7.32.
• Verastem reported a quarterly loss of $0.35 per share, beating estimates of a $0.43 loss, while revenue of $40.08 million exceeded expectations. CEO Dan Paterson also sold 20,871 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 184,944 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $706,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.21% of Verastem at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. RTW Investments LP grew its holdings in Verastem by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,576,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $50,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150,000 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 270.7% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 3,925,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866,350 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,720,000 after buying an additional 55,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,219,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,853,000 after buying an additional 990,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 26,262 shares of company stock valued at $111,897 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VSTM shares. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Verastem from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Mizuho set a $13.00 price target on Verastem and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Verastem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM stock opened at $7.32 on Friday. Verastem, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $10.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $662.90 million, a P/E ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. Analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.

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