Verve Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:VERV)

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 7,528 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,795% compared to the average daily volume of 260 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 21st. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verve Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Verve Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VERV traded up $0.97 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. The firm has a market cap of $451.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 1.86. Verve Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $2.86 and a fifty-two week high of $9.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.93.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last released 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 firm had revenue of $13.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Verve Therapeutics will post -2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verve Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verve Therapeutics by 28.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 572,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 126,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 6.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 115,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,595 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verve Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $139,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 16,842 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Verve Therapeutics by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,586,000 after buying an additional 903,809 shares in the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.