State Street Corp Acquires 65,265 Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,265 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Verastem were worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem in the third quarter worth about $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 10,457 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Verastem by 4,172.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 28,119 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on VSTM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM opened at $6.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.35. Verastem, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $14.22. The company has a market cap of $288.85 million, a PE ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 0.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

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.