Verastem, Inc. $VSTM Shares Sold by Stonepine Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Stonepine Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Verastem, Inc. by 29.5%, owning 613,000 shares after selling 257,000 shares in the 1st quarter, which constitutes about 3.5% of their investment portfolio.
• Verastem reported earnings of ($0.39) per share for the most recent quarter, outperforming expectations of ($0.64), while revenue was $2.14 million, falling short of estimates.
• Wall Street analysts have issued a positive outlook on Verastem, with an average target price of $13.29 and several ratings upgraded to "buy" or "hold."

Stonepine Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 613,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 257,000 shares during the quarter. Verastem makes up approximately 3.5% of Stonepine Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Stonepine Capital Management LLC owned 1.19% of Verastem worth $3,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Verastem during the first quarter worth approximately $977,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the first quarter worth approximately $305,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Verastem by 153.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 37,184 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 22,504 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Verastem by 61.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,079 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 14,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verastem by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 4,183 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total transaction of $91,355.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,276,894.07. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,488 shares of company stock worth $127,149. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VSTM. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. B. Riley raised shares of Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Verastem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Verastem Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of VSTM stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 635,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,829,056. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $6.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.29. Verastem, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.34 and a 12-month high of $9.43. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $557.86 million, a PE ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 0.83.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.64) by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.01 million. On average, research analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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.