Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Position Trimmed by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) by 89.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 553,720 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Verastem worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter worth $41,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Verastem by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Verastem by 62.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 11,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Verastem by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 20,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 6,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Stock Up 0.6 %

VSTM opened at $4.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $247.65 million, a PE ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. Verastem, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $13.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.96 and a 200-day moving average of $4.99.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.57). Equities research analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, 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 objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.89.

Verastem Company 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.