BMO Capital Markets Downgrades Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) to Hold

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

VERV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Verve Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Lifesci Capital downgraded Verve Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. HC Wainwright lowered Verve Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Verve Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Verve Therapeutics from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.57.

Verve Therapeutics Stock Up 0.4%

VERV stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.28. 4,124,819 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,433,226. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.13. Verve Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.86 and a 1-year high of $11.41.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.36. The company had revenue of $32.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 35.81% and a negative net margin of 303.64%. Equities research analysts forecast that Verve Therapeutics will post -2.49 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verve Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KFG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Verve Therapeutics by 823,700.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Verve Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verve Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Verve Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.11% of the company's stock.

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.