Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 359,060 Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 359,060 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.00% of Verastem worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,918,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 65,265 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter worth $1,192,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verastem by 493.7% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 179,725 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verastem by 46.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 103,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 32,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSTM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.38.

Verastem Stock Down 9.8 %

Shares of Verastem stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $5.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,225,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,427,377. The company has a market capitalization of $262.59 million, a P/E ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $4.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.43. Verastem, Inc. has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $14.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, research analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.