Marshall Wace LLP Invests $4.10 Million in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 793,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $4,103,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 1.78% of Verastem as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,778,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 58,191 shares during the last quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth $4,653,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verastem by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 65,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verastem by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 113,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSTM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.89.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM traded up $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,622,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,027,740. The business's 50-day moving average price is $6.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.26. Verastem, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $13.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $385.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.57). As a group, equities analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current 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.