BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires New Position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,904 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $387,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.17% of Verastem as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verastem by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 3,752,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $19,401,000 after buying an additional 19,250 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,778,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verastem by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 948,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,906,000 after purchasing an additional 58,191 shares during the last quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth $4,653,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth $4,103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,913.66. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $90,592.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 114,055 shares in the company, valued at $927,267.15. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,168 shares of company stock worth $577,292. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.33.

Verastem Trading Up 2.8%

Verastem stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 989,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,414. 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 stock has a market cap of $429.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.82. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). As a group, analysts forecast 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.