Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Shares Up 7.6% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) traded up 7.6% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $30.11 and last traded at $29.88. 164,563 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 896,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.77.

The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VERA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total value of $821,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,034,117.48. This represents a 16.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 52,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,305,625 in the last quarter. Insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 21.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank bought a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.35. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.31 and a beta of 1.11.

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.