Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 48.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 590,184 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192,429 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verastem were worth $5,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verastem by 78.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 27,477 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verastem by 236.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,561,000 after purchasing an additional 531,873 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth approximately $106,000. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verastem by 24.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,259 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after purchasing an additional 238,995 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $6.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.16. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.01 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $420.71 million, a P/E ratio of -1.97 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.85 million. On average, analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 10,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total transaction of $73,898.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 400,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,864,744.64. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total transaction of $36,079.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,788.04. This represents a 4.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,678 shares of company stock worth $148,825. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on VSTM shares. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered Verastem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.