Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERV) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 15,180,000 shares, a drop of 14.0% from the June 15th total of 17,643,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.2 days. Approximately 23.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VERV. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Verve Therapeutics from $56.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Insider Transactions at Verve Therapeutics

In other news, insider Andrew D. Ashe bought 76,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $475,760.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 342,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,144,106.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 19.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verve Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VERV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,832,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,085,000 after buying an additional 741,753 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 171.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 50,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 32,087 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 7,025,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,930,000 after buying an additional 1,824,549 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 437.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 7,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verve Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VERV opened at $6.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $565.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.53. Verve Therapeutics has a one year low of $4.59 and a one year high of $21.04.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,226.51% and a negative return on equity of 37.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 305.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Verve Therapeutics will post -2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.