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

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s share price dropped 7.3% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $39.01 and last traded at $39.12. Approximately 128,823 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $730,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,993,989.22. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERA has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $63.50.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

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

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last issued its 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). As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 14.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 43,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.