Redmile Group LLC Lowers Stake in Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV)

Redmile Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,604,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114,154 shares during the period. Redmile Group LLC owned approximately 1.91% of Verve Therapeutics worth $21,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VERV. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 8.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,592,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,424,000 after acquiring an additional 194,594 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verve Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,832,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,085,000 after purchasing an additional 741,753 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after buying an additional 6,626 shares during the period. PBCay One RSC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 13,200 shares during the period. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VERV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Verve Therapeutics from $56.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew D. Ashe acquired 76,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the insider now directly owns 342,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,144,106.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 19.30% of the company’s stock.

Verve Therapeutics Price Performance

VERV traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.12. 855,795 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,296,871. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $597.80 million, a PE ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 1.83. Verve Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.59 and a 1-year high of $20.58.

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

Verve Therapeutics 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.