Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading 4.9% Higher – Still a Buy?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s share price traded up 4.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.01 and last traded at $37.73. 165,844 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 714,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

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 has a 50 day moving average price of $41.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.28 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total value of $753,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,305,625. Corporate insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 28,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 4,709 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 58,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,515 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 4,831 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 82.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 813,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,418,000 after purchasing an additional 366,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 2,882 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.