BVF Inc. IL Buys 6,254,050 Shares of Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV)

BVF Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV - Free Report) by 962.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,904,050 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,254,050 shares during the period. Verve Therapeutics makes up about 1.3% of BVF Inc. IL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. BVF Inc. IL owned 8.16% of Verve Therapeutics worth $38,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 3,789,379 shares of the company's stock worth $21,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625,780 shares of the company's stock worth $9,172,000 after buying an additional 25,093 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 650,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,669,000 after buying an additional 73,295 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Verve Therapeutics by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 635,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,586,000 after acquiring an additional 80,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 437,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.11% of the company's stock.

Verve Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERV traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.22. 1,187,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,815,052. The company's 50 day moving average price is $5.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.92. The firm has a market cap of $376.18 million, a PE ratio of -1.72 and a beta of 1.82. Verve Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.86 and a 52 week high of $9.31.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.14. Verve Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 807.65% and a negative return on equity of 35.23%. The firm had revenue of $13.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 million. On average, research analysts predict that Verve Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Verve Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Verve Therapeutics from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.75.

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.