Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading Down 5.2% – Should You Sell?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s stock price dropped 5.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.45 and last traded at $34.91. 394,678 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,478,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VERA. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Evercore set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.15.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.37 and a 200-day moving average of $37.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 10.92 and a current ratio of 10.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.86 and a beta of 0.92.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($1.52) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by $0.06. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.20) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 46,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.30, for a total transaction of $1,956,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,429,346.20. This represents a 23.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,461,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795,537 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 8.8% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 3,641,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,812,000 after purchasing an additional 293,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,570,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,805,000 after buying an additional 379,748 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 24.0% during the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 3,100,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,036,000 after buying an additional 600,000 shares during the period. Finally, Eversept Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 3,072,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,581,000 after buying an additional 264,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies that harness the body’s own regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By leveraging a proprietary protein engineering platform, the company designs Treg-selective cytokine variants intended to restore immune balance and provide targeted, disease-modifying effects. Its pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical candidates aimed at indications characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vera Therapeutics collaborates with leading academic and research institutions to advance its development programs.