Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading 7.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s stock price rose 7.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $34.00 and last traded at $34.2490. Approximately 343,562 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,575,944 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERA has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $125.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.15.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Up 7.7%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.59 and its 200-day moving average is $36.96. The company has a quick ratio of 10.92, a current ratio of 10.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of -5.84 and a beta of 0.96.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($1.52) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by $0.06. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.20) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vera Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 46,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,994 shares in the company, valued at $6,429,346.20. This represents a 23.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,250 shares of company stock worth $3,307,800. Corporate insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 1,579.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 108,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,640,000 after buying an additional 101,699 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 569.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 104,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,000 after acquiring an additional 89,253 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Vera Therapeutics by 12.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $12,663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for immune-mediated diseases. The company’s research is centered on therapies designed to address the underlying causes of autoimmune conditions rather than primarily managing their symptoms.

Vera’s leading product candidate is atacicept, an investigational biologic designed to inhibit two proteins involved in the survival and activity of antibody-producing immune cells, B-cell activating factor and a proliferation-inducing ligand.