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

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) shares fell 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. 128,823 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 387,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.19.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VERA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Vera Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.50.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 13.76 and a quick ratio of 13.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.41 and its 200 day moving average is $41.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.15.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted 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). Research analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERA. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 426,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,830,000 after buying an additional 124,197 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,004,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,415,000 after acquiring an additional 20,223 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Vera Therapeutics by 94.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 85,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,774,000 after acquiring an additional 41,394 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 283.1% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 30,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 22,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,573,000. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.