BVF Inc. IL Grows Stock Position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

BVF Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,100,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 415,249 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL owned about 4.72% of Verastem worth $10,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Verastem by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verastem by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Price Performance

Verastem stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.13. 2,317,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,720. The stock has a market cap of $367.12 million, a P/E ratio of -2.24 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average is $6.33 and its 200-day moving average is $5.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $13.52.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VSTM shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho cut their price target on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.33.

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.