Octagon Capital Advisors LP Takes $10.37 Million Position in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Key Points

• Octagon Capital Advisors LP invested approximately $10.37 million to acquire 1,720,000 shares of Verastem, Inc., making it the 22nd largest position in their portfolio.
• Verastem's stock performance shows a 1-year range with a low of $2.40 and a high of $11.24, currently priced at $10.23.
• Wall Street analysts have recently upgraded Verastem's stock, with one Strong Buy rating and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Octagon Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,720,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $10,372,000. Verastem comprises 1.1% of Octagon Capital Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Octagon Capital Advisors LP owned 3.34% of Verastem as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $3,742,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Verastem by 236.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,561,000 after acquiring an additional 531,873 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the first quarter valued at about $1,631,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the first quarter valued at about $1,255,000. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Verastem by 41.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 177,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Trading Up 4.0%

Verastem stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,766,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,497,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.44. Verastem, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.54 and a 12-month high of $11.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.61. The firm has a market cap of $598.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 0.93.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.64) by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.01 million. Equities analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VSTM. B. Riley upgraded Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Verastem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $13.29.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total value of $91,355.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 443,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,276,894.07. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,488 shares of company stock valued at $127,149. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.