Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Shares Down 7.3% – Here’s What Happened

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s share price dropped 7.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.01 and last traded at $39.12. Approximately 128,823 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 387,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VERA shares. 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 note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush upped their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vera Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $63.50.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.75 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 13.76 and a quick ratio of 13.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.95.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.64) by ($0.21). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Beth C. Seidenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $720,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 131,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,318,490.59. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $821,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,034,117.48. This trade represents a 16.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,375 shares of company stock worth $3,078,181 in the last ninety days. 21.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VERA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $135,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $163,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $235,000. Finally, HighVista Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

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.