Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading Down 5.2% – Time to Sell?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s share price fell 5.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.45 and last traded at $34.91. 394,678 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,478,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VERA. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Evercore set a $91.00 price objective on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC set a $125.00 target price on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.15.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.83 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 10.92, a quick ratio of 10.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.35 and a 200-day moving average of $37.74.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($1.52) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.20) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vera Therapeutics news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 46,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.30, for a total value of $1,956,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $127,000. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies that harness the body’s own regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By leveraging a proprietary protein engineering platform, the company designs Treg-selective cytokine variants intended to restore immune balance and provide targeted, disease-modifying effects. Its pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical candidates aimed at indications characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vera Therapeutics collaborates with leading academic and research institutions to advance its development programs.