Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Trading Up 10.1% - Here's What Happened

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 10.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $5.91 and last traded at $5.83. 1,771,028 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 1,913,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on VERV shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verve Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verve Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verve Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Verve Therapeutics Trading Up 5.6%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.48 and a 200-day moving average of $5.74. The company has a market capitalization of $539.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.67.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.36. Verve Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 35.23% and a negative net margin of 807.65%. The firm had revenue of $32.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.13 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verve Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.49 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verve Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 126.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 30,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 17,186 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,648,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 90.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,413,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,458,000 after purchasing an additional 671,939 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 1,028.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 373,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 340,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 97.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verve Therapeutics Company 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.