Soleus Capital Management L.P. Sells 643,937 Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Soleus Capital Management L.P. cut its stake in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,184,026 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 643,937 shares during the quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 4.91% of Verastem worth $11,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Verastem by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,593 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 9,254 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,352 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,012 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Verastem by 546.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 47,094 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.48. 1,912,026 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,135,366. 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 capitalization of $411.02 million, a PE ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.67. Verastem, Inc. has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $12.26.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,755,913.66. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $90,592.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $927,267.15. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,168 shares of company stock worth $577,292 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSTM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.33.

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.