Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Vera Therapeutics has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $79.60.
• The company missed earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting a loss of ($1.69) EPS versus the expected ($1.33), and analysts now expect -$5.54 EPS for the current year.
• Insider selling has been notable, including CEO Marshall Fordyce selling 22,951 shares; meanwhile, institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning 99.21% of the stock.

Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.60.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vera Therapeutics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Vera Therapeutics stock opened at $36.19 on Monday. Vera Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $18.76 and a 1 year high of $56.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 13.64 and a quick ratio of 13.64.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.33) by ($0.36). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.81) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics will post -5.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 22,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total transaction of $1,010,991.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,362,498.20. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider William D. Turner sold 2,187 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.98, for a total value of $91,810.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,239.74. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,441 shares of company stock worth $2,416,902. 15.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,461,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795,537 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. grew its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 8.8% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 3,641,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,812,000 after purchasing an additional 293,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,570,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,805,000 after purchasing an additional 379,748 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 24.0% in the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 3,100,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,036,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eversept Partners LP grew its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 3,072,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,581,000 after purchasing an additional 264,468 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.21% of the company's stock.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies that harness the body's own regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By leveraging a proprietary protein engineering platform, the company designs Treg-selective cytokine variants intended to restore immune balance and provide targeted, disease-modifying effects. Its pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical candidates aimed at indications characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vera Therapeutics collaborates with leading academic and research institutions to advance its development programs.

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