Verve Therapeutics slides on upsized share offering
21/07/2022 13:14
** Verve Therapeutics Inc's VERV.O shares down 16.7% at
$29.90 premarket after follow-on prices
** VERV sells ~8.3 mln shares at $27, raises $225 mln
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX9nW7Nx
** Offering size boosted from $200 mln, prices at 24.8%
discount to stock's last close
** JP Morgan, Jefferies, Guggenheim and William Blair joint
bookrunners
** Alongside offering launch late Weds, VERV announced 4-yr
collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX.O focused on
gene editing program for a liver disease urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX1N54sn
** VERV to receive $60 mln upfront payment from VRTX,
including $35 mln equity investment, per agreement's terms
** VERV also eligible to receive up to $66 mln mln in
success payments, and up to $340 mln in development and
commercial milestones, and royalties
** VERV's shares on Weds rose 11.2%, extending weekly gain
to 51.5%. Stock has surged 135% this month
** Co has ~48.7 mln shares outstanding for $1.75 bln market
cap, per Refinitiv data
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-332-219-1430))