Northern Trust Corp Has $1.75 Million Stock Holdings in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 52,657 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.76% of Verastem worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at $13,778,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at $4,653,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at $4,103,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at $328,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 58,191 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSTM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.63.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.45. 1,509,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,080,425. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $9.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.61 and a 200 day moving average of $5.88. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock has a market cap of $409.37 million, a PE ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.24). On average, research analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction of $90,592.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 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 transaction of $477,044.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,168 shares of company stock valued at $577,292 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.