UBS Group AG Acquires 217,069 Shares of Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 76.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 501,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 217,069 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.75% of Verastem worth $3,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Verastem by 182.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 9.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 110.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $4.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 3.04 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market cap of $372.57 million, a P/E ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.84. Verastem, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.00 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.85 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 391.17% and a negative return on equity of 486.40%. Sell-side analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VSTM. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.60.

Verastem 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.