Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Shares Up 10.1% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV)’s stock price rose 10.1% on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $6.73 and last traded at $6.66. Approximately 492,787 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 1,300,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.05.

The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 35.20% and a negative net margin of 933.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 120.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.72) earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on VERV shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Verve Therapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Verve Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 14.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 262,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 19,925 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 23,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 1,631.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 17,720 shares during the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verve Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $538.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.69.

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.