Verve Therapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VERV)

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 7,528 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,795% compared to the typical volume of 260 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VERV. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Verve Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Verve Therapeutics from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Verve Therapeutics Trading Up 23.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VERV traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.09. The company had a trading volume of 21,166,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,035. Verve Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $2.86 and a 52-week high of $9.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.93. The stock has a market cap of $451.97 million, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 1.86.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $13.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 million. Research analysts forecast that Verve Therapeutics will post -2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BVF Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 962.2% in the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 6,904,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,939,000 after purchasing an additional 6,254,050 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verve Therapeutics by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,586,000 after buying an additional 903,809 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 3,789,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,372,000 after buying an additional 1,382,176 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verve Therapeutics by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,848,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,423,000 after acquiring an additional 288,678 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,172,000 after acquiring an additional 25,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.11% of the company’s stock.

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.