Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (VERA) - What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly bullish: Vera Therapeutics has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 15 analysts, with 11 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of $76.86 versus a recent share price of $30.98.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Hedge funds and institutions own 99.21% of the stock, with several major investors increasing their positions. CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 18,500 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, reducing his stake by 7.29%.
• Vera reported a quarterly loss of $1.52 per share, modestly better than the $1.58 consensus estimate. The clinical-stage biotech is developing atacicept, an autoimmune-disease treatment being evaluated for IgA nephropathy.

Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.86.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VERA shares. Needham & Company LLC set a $125.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 17th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 15th.

Insider Transactions at Vera Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 18,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $684,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 235,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,704,028. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VERA. Braidwell LP boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 564,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,232,000 after purchasing an additional 40,900 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 5.7% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 475,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,123,000 after purchasing an additional 25,781 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 136.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 457,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,397,000 after purchasing an additional 263,900 shares in the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 369,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,869,000 after purchasing an additional 16,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,663,000. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERA opened at $30.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 10.92 and a current ratio of 10.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.09. Vera Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $23.05 and a 52-week high of $56.05.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($1.52) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by $0.06. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.20) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics will post -6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for immunological diseases. The company's research is centered on therapies that target the underlying causes of autoimmune conditions rather than primarily addressing their symptoms.

Vera's lead product candidate is atacicept, a biologic designed to inhibit the B-cell survival factors BLyS and APRIL. The company has been evaluating atacicept in IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune kidney disease that can lead to progressive loss of kidney function, and has also investigated its potential in other immune-mediated diseases.

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