Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 82,288 Shares of Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 414,241 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 82,288 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.46% of Verastem worth $3,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,876,000. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 58.5% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 234,957 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Verastem by 157.2% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Verastem by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 100,123 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth $706,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,221,696. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,041 shares of company stock valued at $386,390. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Trading Down 7.2%

VSTM opened at $8.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $764.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.12 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.19. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.43 and a 12 month high of $10.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.29.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.27). Verastem had a negative return on equity of 359.49% and a negative net margin of 178.38%. The company had revenue of $24.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.57 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Verastem from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Monday, September 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.83.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for cancer. Its research has centered on signaling pathways involved in tumor growth, including the RAS/MAPK pathway. The company’s product, AVMAPKI FAKZYNJA CO-PACK, combines avutometinib and defactinib. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the combination for certain adults with KRAS-mutated recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer who have received prior systemic therapy. Verastem is based in Needham, Massachusetts, and also develops investigational cancer therapies, including potential uses of avutometinib in combination with other medicines.