Citigroup Inc. Buys Shares of 30,075 Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Citigroup Inc. bought a new stake in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,075 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.12% of Verastem 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 the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verastem by 6.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,511,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,235,000 after acquiring an additional 528,022 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 417.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,154,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after buying an additional 4,158,108 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,896,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 64,245 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 190.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,684,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 1,103,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $662,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $11.82 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 0.49. Verastem, Inc. has a one year low of $4.20 and a one year high of $15.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 5.45.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, Director Robert E. Gagnon sold 9,204 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.95, for a total value of $100,783.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,237.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 9,817 shares of company stock valued at $107,388 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VSTM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.79.

About Verastem

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.