Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $28.78 and last traded at $28.69, with a volume of 281860 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.44.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 13.76 and a current ratio of 13.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total value of $753,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,701,521.94. The trade was a 16.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 52,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,305,625 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Vera Therapeutics by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Vera Therapeutics by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

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.