Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.44.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VERA stock opened at $38.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 13.76, a quick ratio of 13.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.98. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.59 and a beta of 1.11. Vera Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $31.77 and a 12-month high of $51.61.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by ($0.21). On average, equities analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total transaction of $753,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,701,521.94. This trade represents a 16.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,500 shares of company stock worth $2,305,625. 21.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VERA. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 117.5% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 5,053 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 worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,477,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Vera Therapeutics by 21.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 64.1% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

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.