Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s What Happened

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) shares shot up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.58 and last traded at $8.60. 392,140 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,661,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VERV. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Verve Therapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Verve Therapeutics from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Verve Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $690.83 million, a PE ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.88.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 35.23% and a negative net margin of 807.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 120.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.72) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verve Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verve Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 139.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 222,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 129,944 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,586,000 after purchasing an additional 903,809 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $3,020,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verve Therapeutics by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 572,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,769,000 after buying an additional 126,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Verve Therapeutics by 465.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 35,214 shares in the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verve Therapeutics

Verve Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage genetic medicines company, engages in developing gene editing medicines for patients to treat cardiovascular diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is VERVE-101, a single-course gene editing treatment that permanently turns off the PCSK9 gene in the liver; and VERVE-102, a product candidate that targets the PCSK9 gene for the treatment of HeFH.