MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Verastem as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,103,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $160,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 20,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 6,012 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.89.

Verastem Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $6.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.42. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $13.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.34 million, a P/E ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 0.85.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). On average, equities analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verastem Company 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.