Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.17 Million Stock Position in Verastem, Inc. $VSTM

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 157.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 347,872 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verastem were worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 715.1% during the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 108,260 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 100,123 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Verastem by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 110,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 14,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verastem by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after acquiring an additional 234,957 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $7.05 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.04. Verastem, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.43 and a 52-week high of $11.24. The stock has a market cap of $638.45 million, a PE ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 0.26.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 492.59%. As a group, analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of Verastem 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,262 shares of company stock valued at $111,897. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VSTM shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Verastem Company 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.