Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stake in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 99,540 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Verastem were worth $197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Verastem by 182.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter worth about $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Verastem by 9.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position 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 valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VSTM. Mizuho set a $13.00 target price on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on Verastem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Verastem stock opened at $7.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $662.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.57. Verastem, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.43 and a 1 year high of $10.82.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. The business had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,242 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,391.56. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 26,262 shares of company stock valued at $111,897 over the last quarter. 1.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Verastem

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.