Is Verve's expense structure sustainable long-term?
4/14/2025 12:27am
**Verve Therapeutics' expense structure appears to be challenging in the near term but may be sustainable long-term**, considering the following points:
1. **Revenue Growth**: Verve has demonstrated significant revenue growth, with collaboration revenue increasing to $32.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, up from $11.8 million in 2023. This growth is primarily due to increased research services related to collaborations with Vertex and Lilly.
|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Total Revenue YoY|Total Revenue|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q1|305.62678062678066|5695000|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q2|219.73244147157192|6692000|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q3|120.2438241899262|6865000|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q4|154.27682737169516|1.308E7|185|
2. **Financial Commitment**: The company's financial performance reflects a strong cash position, with $524.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of December 31, 2024. This cash runway provides a financial cushion into mid-2027.
3. **Pipeline Progress**: Verve has made substantial progress in its pipeline, with ongoing clinical trials and expected data updates. The company's pipeline includes three clinical-stage programs targeting PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 genes, which are expected to enter clinical trials in 2024.
4. **Innovation and Market Potential**: Verve's gene editing medicines address high unmet needs in cardiovascular disease, which could lead to significant market opportunities if successful.
5. **Challenges and Expenses**: The company's research and development (R&D) expenses have increased, reflecting ongoing investment in clinical trials and pipeline development. General and administrative expenses have also risen, primarily due to increased employee-related expenses. Net losses for 2024 were $198.7 million, with a net loss of $50.04 million for Q4 2024.
|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Net Income YoY|Net Income|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q1|6.231842231842232|-4.8736E7|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q2|7.739473537965656|-4.9805E7|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q3|-9.56116963153984|-5.0133E7|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q4|-3.48072468563865|-5.0035E7|185|
6. **Financial Ratios**: The company's return on equity (ROE) is negative at -36.36%, and the debt-to-equity ratio is not available, but the free cash flow is -$42.23 million, indicating a need for additional financing to support operations and capital expenditures.
|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Free Cash Flow|Debt-to-Equity Ratio|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q1|-1.523340134E8||185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q2|-2.07140047381E8||185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q3|-1.9610102028E8||185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q4|-9.459091524E7||185|
|code|Ticker|Name|Date|ROA|ROE(Average)|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q1||-8.2424|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q2||-17.2034|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q3||-26.8352|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|2024 Q4||-36.3636|185|
7. **Valuation Metrics**: Verve's valuation metrics, including the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of -1.46 and price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 8.95, suggest that the company is not profitable as of the latest data.
|code|Ticker|Name|Date|P/E(TTM)|P/S|Price to Book Ratio|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240415|-3.116795|0|1.0196078236436241|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240416|-3.044312|0|0.9958960137914468|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240417|-2.873762|0|0.940103520021618|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240418|-2.839652|0|0.9289450212676521|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240419|-2.831125|0|0.9261553965791606|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240422|-2.946246|0|0.9638153298737953|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240423|-2.933454|0|0.9596308928410581|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240424|-2.805542|0|0.9177865225136864|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240425|-2.652047|0|0.8675732781208403|185|
|VERV|VERV.O|Verve Therapeutics|20240426|-2.626465|0|0.8623233367695188|185|
In conclusion, while Verve Therapeutics faces significant expenses and challenges in the near term, the company's strong revenue growth, financial position, and innovative pipeline suggest that its expense structure may be sustainable long-term if the company continues to make progress in clinical trials and achieves commercial success with its gene editing medicines. However, the company will need to manage its expenses effectively and secure additional financing as needed to support its long-term goals.