Stonepine Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Stonepine Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 870,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 440,287 shares during the quarter. Verastem makes up 3.6% of Stonepine Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Stonepine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.95% of Verastem worth $4,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VSTM. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Verastem by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Voya Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,913.66. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 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 $90,592.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 114,055 shares in the company, valued at $927,267.15. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,168 shares of company stock worth $577,292. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Verastem Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Verastem stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.61. 3,040,923 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,143,728. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $6.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.70. Verastem, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $12.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. The company has a market cap of $418.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 0.85.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released 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). Equities analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VSTM. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target 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. B. Riley lifted their price target on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued 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 $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.