Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Shares Down 5.8%

Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) traded down 5.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $43.03 and last traded at $43.03. 376,845 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 910,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Vera Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -22.27 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 21.43, a quick ratio of 21.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.06). On average, research analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vera Therapeutics

In related news, Director Beth C. Seidenberg sold 1,177 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.01, for a total value of $49,445.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 160,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,395.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 15,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total value of $585,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 307,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,548,950. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Beth C. Seidenberg sold 1,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.01, for a total transaction of $49,445.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 160,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,395.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,273 shares of company stock valued at $1,210,750. 21.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Crestline Management LP grew its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 14,689 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 170,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,626,000 after buying an additional 34,381 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $17,087,000. Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $252,000. Finally, Kynam Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Kynam Capital Management LP now owns 3,650,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,142,000 after buying an additional 694,286 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with serious immunological diseases. Its lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein self-administered as a subcutaneous injection that is in Phase III clinical trial for patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy; and for treatment of lupus nephritis that is in Phase II clinical trial.