Stifel Financial Corp Buys 11,642 Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,642 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Verastem worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 4,172.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 28,119 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,192,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter worth $43,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VSTM. StockNews.com downgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho raised their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Verastem Trading Down 1.1 %

VSTM opened at $3.67 on Tuesday. Verastem, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $14.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.21 and a 200-day moving average of $3.30. The stock has a market cap of $163.34 million, a PE ratio of -1.15 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

Verastem 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.