Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Shares Down 7.2%

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV)’s stock price was down 7.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $6.97 and last traded at $6.97. Approximately 561,173 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,306,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VERV. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Verve Therapeutics from $56.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Verve Therapeutics Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $578.48 million, a P/E ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.65 and a 200-day moving average of $9.36.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by $0.11. Verve Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,226.51% and a negative return on equity of 37.35%. The business had revenue of $5.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 million. Verve Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 305.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Verve Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verve Therapeutics

In other news, insider Andrew D. Ashe acquired 76,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $475,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 342,509 shares in the company, valued at $2,144,106.34. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 19.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERV. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBCay One RSC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 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.