Stonepine Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,310,287 Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Stonepine Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,310,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,918,000. Verastem accounts for 2.5% of Stonepine Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Stonepine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.94% of Verastem at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,192,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $203,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 103,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 32,791 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 4,172.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 28,119 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VSTM shares. StockNews.com cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim started coverage on Verastem in a report on Monday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Verastem from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM stock traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $4.32. 230,701 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 594,274. 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 $192.28 million, a PE ratio of -1.35 and a beta of 0.14. Verastem, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $14.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.35 and its 200 day moving average is $3.75.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.16 earnings per share 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.