Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Coverage Initiated at HC Wainwright

Investment analysts at HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 76.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verve Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Verve Therapeutics Stock Down 1.8 %

Verve Therapeutics stock opened at $8.52 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $712.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.70. Verve Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $7.36 and a 12-month high of $21.42.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 39.33% and a negative net margin of 1,701.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verve Therapeutics will post -3.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verve Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Credit Suisse AG grew its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 3.4% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 12,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 22,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 17,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.