Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $4.56 Million Stake in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Verastem, Inc. by 236.9%, owning 756,402 shares valued at approximately $4.56 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analyst ratings for Verastem show a consensus of "Buy" with an average target price of $13.29, despite some fluctuations in ratings from various research firms.
• CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares at an average price of $5.13, which represented a 3.86% decrease in his ownership of the company stock.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 236.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 531,873 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.38% of Verastem worth $4,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Verastem by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Verastem by 58.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 8,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Stock Performance

VSTM stock traded down $0.49 on Friday, reaching $9.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,936,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,658. Verastem, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.54 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The company has a market capitalization of $556.94 million, a P/E ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.73. 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 (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.64) by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 million. As a group, analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.