Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Shares Break Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Vera Therapeutics shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $32.18 and last at $31.97; the 50-day average was $31.83.
• Analysts’ consensus is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $76.86. Targets vary widely, from $34 at Wedbush to $125 at Needham.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.52 per share, slightly better than analysts’ $1.58 loss estimate. CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 18,500 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.83 and traded as high as $32.18. Vera Therapeutics shares last traded at $31.97, with a volume of 1,985,322 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Needham & Company LLC set a $125.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $125.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.86.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.84.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the firm posted ($1.20) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vera Therapeutics news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 18,500 shares of Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 235,244 shares in the company, valued at $8,704,028. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Vera Therapeutics by 47.2% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,839,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,397,000 after purchasing an additional 589,831 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 21.5% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 568,560 shares of the company's stock worth $18,426,000 after purchasing an additional 100,461 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 7.8% during the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 564,724 shares of the company's stock worth $24,232,000 after purchasing an additional 40,900 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 136.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 457,300 shares of the company's stock worth $18,397,000 after purchasing an additional 263,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $14,869,000 after purchasing an additional 16,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.21% of the company's stock.

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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