AIGH Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,665,043 Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM)

AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,665,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,778,000. Verastem accounts for 4.3% of AIGH Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. AIGH Capital Management LLC owned about 5.99% of Verastem as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 32,791 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in Verastem by 493.7% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 179,725 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 11,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Verastem by 18.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 65,265 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Trading Down 8.0 %

VSTM stock opened at $6.19 on Friday. Verastem, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $13.52. The company has a market capitalization of $318.70 million, a PE ratio of -1.94 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VSTM. B. Riley boosted their price target on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.88.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,960 shares of company stock valued at $53,498. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.