Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $106,000 in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,428 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verastem by 3.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 4,183 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Verastem by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 49,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 12,330 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Verastem by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,079 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 14,941 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Verastem by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 37,184 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 22,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 27,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $75,496.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,496.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total transaction of $32,132.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,087.32. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,972 shares of company stock valued at $120,945 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM opened at $9.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.44. The firm has a market cap of $619.05 million, a PE ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Verastem, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.45 and a 1-year high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $11.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.76 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VSTM. B. Riley upgraded shares of Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Zacks Research raised Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $15.00 price objective on Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

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.