Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Stock Price Down 7.3% Following Insider Selling

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s stock price was down 7.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $39.01 and last traded at $39.12. Approximately 128,823 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 387,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.19.

Specifically, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $730,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,993,989.22. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VERA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vera Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.50.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 13.76, a quick ratio of 13.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.01.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.64) by ($0.21). Equities research analysts predict that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERA. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 8.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,954,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,390,000 after purchasing an additional 158,451 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 90.8% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,231,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,571,000 after buying an additional 586,410 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 130.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 1,005,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,387,000 after buying an additional 569,590 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,004,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,415,000 after buying an additional 20,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Logos Global Management LP raised its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 65.2% during the second quarter. Logos Global Management LP now owns 950,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,371,000 after acquiring an additional 375,000 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is owned by 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.