Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.63 Million in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. made a new investment of $1.63 million in Verastem, acquiring 270,520 shares during the first quarter, representing about 0.53% ownership of the biopharmaceutical company.
• Insider trading reports revealed that CFO Daniel Calkins and CEO Dan Paterson both sold shares on May 20th, reducing their stakes by 8.90% and 11.27% respectively.
• Analysts have mixed views on Verastem, with eight buy ratings and one sell rating, while the average price target for the stock is set at $13.38.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 270,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,631,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.53% of Verastem as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter worth about $20,400,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,103,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,742,000. BVF Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,100,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,859,000 after buying an additional 415,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 608,524 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,146,000 after buying an additional 177,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.97. 1,003,112 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,276,316. The firm has a market cap of $328.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.87 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.03. Verastem, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.18 and a 52-week high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released 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). On average, analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSTM has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Verastem from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 owned 114,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,267.15. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total transaction of $91,355.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,276,894.07. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,976 shares of company stock worth $687,047 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.