Verve Therapeutics soars on report Eli Lilly in talks for $1.3 billion deal

Genetic medicines developer Verve Therapeutics' VERV.O shares jump 77.83% to $11.15 in premarket trading

Eli Lilly LLY.N is in talks to buy VERV for up to $1.3 billion to expand its experimental drug pipeline, the Financial Times reports

The deal could be announced as early as this week, provided talks stay on track - FT, citing people familiar with the matter

LLY shares down nearly 1% to $799.85 before the bell

Cautious on potential acquisition of Verve by Lilly, as we question the ultimate commercial viability of gene editing for primary care conditions, BMO Capital Markets says

Brokerage adds "while the proposed deal size is low relative to Lilly's investment firepower, we think there may be better uses of capital for the company at this time"

VERV, which had a market cap of about $559 million, is up ~11% YTD through last close