Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Shares Sold by Stonepine Capital Management LLC

Stonepine Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 33.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 870,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 440,287 shares during the period. Verastem accounts for 3.6% of Stonepine Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Stonepine Capital Management LLC owned 1.95% of Verastem worth $4,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Verastem by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,593 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 9,254 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Verastem by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Verastem by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 20,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 6,012 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Verastem by 546.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VSTM shares. StockNews.com lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.33.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $7.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. The company has a market cap of $417.06 million, a PE ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.60. Verastem, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $12.45.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). Analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Verastem 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.