BNP Paribas Financial Markets Makes New $387,000 Investment in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 74,904 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.17% of Verastem as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verastem by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 3,752,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,401,000 after buying an additional 19,250 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $13,778,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 948,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,906,000 after purchasing an additional 58,191 shares in the last quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth $4,653,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth $4,103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.33.

Verastem Stock Up 11.1%

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $8.31 on Monday. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $8.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock has a market cap of $456.63 million, a PE ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.49 and its 200 day moving average is $5.76.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). Research analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $90,592.59. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,168 shares of company stock worth $577,292. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.