Good news from the laboratory and a clutch of bullish analyst notes were the drivers behind Verve Therapeautics' (VERV 2.00%) big stock price leap this week. By the time the dust cleared, the biotech company's shares soared 40% higher over the period, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Verve is a clinical-stage biotech, so its success depends on how it's progressing with its pipeline. The indications were quite encouraging this week when the company published initial data from a phase 1b clinical trial of VERVE-102, a drug targeting heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) -- a genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol levels -- and premature coronary artery disease.
In the trial involving 14 patents, the treatment appeared to be efficacious, particularly in reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the body. It was also well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported.
Following the news, analysts tracking Verve stock wasted little time publishing bullish new notes on the stock. Several raised their price targets with one -- Cantor Fitzgerald -- even upgrading its recommendation to the equivalent of a buy.
Not every analyst was so hot on Verve in the wake of the readout; JPMorgan Chase pundit Eric Jospeh actually lowered his price target (to $16 per share from $19).
Generally, though, prognosticators greeted the development positively. BMO Capital's Kostas Biliouris, in reiterating his outperform (i.e, buy) recommendation, according to reports wrote in a fresh note that the drug's performance beat expectations, and its safety profile positioned it in "a wide therapeutic window."
免責聲明：投資有風險，本文並非投資建議，以上內容不應被視為任何金融產品的購買或出售要約、建議或邀請，作者或其他用戶的任何相關討論、評論或帖子也不應被視為此類內容。本文僅供一般參考，不考慮您的個人投資目標、財務狀況或需求。TTM對信息的準確性和完整性不承擔任何責任或保證，投資者應自行研究並在投資前尋求專業建議。