Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Trading 8.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) shares were up 8.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $6.01 and last traded at $5.96. Approximately 1,076,467 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 1,300,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Verve Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $516.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.74.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by $0.11. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 120.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.72) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verve Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verve Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERV. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 189.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares during the period. Creative Planning bought a new position in Verve Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Verve Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Verve Therapeutics by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 5,723 shares during the period. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.