Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Shares Up 6.7% – Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VERV. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Verve Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $690.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.45 and a 200 day moving average of $5.88.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 35.23% and a negative net margin of 807.65%. Verve Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 120.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.72) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verve Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verve Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verve Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $115,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Verve Therapeutics by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Verve Therapeutics by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 11,810 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Verve Therapeutics by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 220,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Verve Therapeutics by 823,700.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verve Therapeutics Company Profile

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.