Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading Down 3% Following Insider Selling

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 3% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $45.99 and last traded at $46.54. 66,123 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 1,299,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.97.

Specifically, SVP Joseph R. Young sold 5,714 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $228,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,171 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,840. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Maha Katabi bought 161,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,628,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,481,826. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph R. Young sold 5,714 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $228,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,171 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 526,551 shares of company stock worth $21,533,345. Company insiders own 21.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VERA. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $21.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Vera Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.29.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -20.32 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 7.71 and a quick ratio of 7.71.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,633,608 shares of the company's stock worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 59,218 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 649,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,985,000 after buying an additional 229,414 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 52,590 shares of the company's stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 22,620 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 113,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 42,044 shares during the last quarter. 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.