Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,950,000 shares, an increase of 26.6% from the May 15th total of 7,070,000 shares. Approximately 18.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VERA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 58,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,515 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Vera Therapeutics by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 28,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 4,709 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Vera Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 141,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,003,000 after purchasing an additional 7,895 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 430,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,213,000 after purchasing an additional 68,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 515.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 235,267 shares of the company's stock worth $9,949,000 after buying an additional 197,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.21% of the company's stock.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Vera Therapeutics stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,396. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.78. Vera Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $18.53 and a fifty-two week high of $51.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of -6.95 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 27.68 and a quick ratio of 27.68.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by ($0.06). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.56) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vera Therapeutics

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.