Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $37.52, but opened at $36.63. Vera Therapeutics shares last traded at $37.81, with a volume of 45,552 shares.

Specifically, CFO Sean Grant sold 99,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $3,954,187.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 66,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,627,608.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vera Therapeutics news, CFO Sean Grant sold 99,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $3,954,187.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 66,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,627,608.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Maha Katabi acquired 161,290 shares of Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $4,999,990.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,628,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,481,826. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,570,837 shares of company stock worth $40,204,785 over the last ninety days. 22.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VERA shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Vera Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vera Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.29.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.82 and a 200 day moving average of $24.30. The company has a quick ratio of 7.71, a current ratio of 7.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -16.87 and a beta of 1.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,271 shares of the company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 6,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 163.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.