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

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VSTM. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,778,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,653,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,103,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 948,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,906,000 after acquiring an additional 58,191 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VSTM. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.63.

Insider Activity

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

Verastem Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of VSTM stock traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $7.43. The stock had a trading volume of 324,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,206. Verastem, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $9.10. The firm has a market cap of $408.05 million, a P/E ratio of -2.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.84.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Verastem

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.