Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Upgraded to Outperform at Wolfe Research

Key Points

• Wolfe Research upgraded Vera Therapeutics from "peer perform" to Outperform and set an $88 price target, implying roughly a 118.6% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $81.45 average target; ten analysts rate the stock Buy, one Hold and one Sell, and multiple firms recently raised price targets into the $66–$97 range.
• Insiders sold about 33,490 shares (~$1.4M) last quarter while large institutional holders (e.g., Price T. Rowe, Vanguard, Deerfield) have increased stakes, leaving reported institutional/hedge fund ownership extremely high at ~99.2%.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wolfe Research from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 118.63% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on VERA. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $48.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $75.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $55.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.45.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VERA opened at $40.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 13.64, a current ratio of 13.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $44.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.64 and a beta of 1.17. Vera Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $18.53 and a twelve month high of $56.05.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.34) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.72) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vera Therapeutics will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In related news, insider William D. Turner sold 2,187 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.98, for a total transaction of $91,810.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,239.74. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David Lee Johnson sold 2,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.98, for a total transaction of $108,266.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,919,619.46. This trade represents a 5.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,405,910. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,461,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795,537 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 3,641,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,812,000 after buying an additional 293,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,570,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,805,000 after buying an additional 379,748 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 3,100,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,036,000 after buying an additional 600,000 shares during the period. Finally, Eversept Partners LP grew its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 3,072,304 shares of the company's stock worth $155,581,000 after acquiring an additional 264,468 shares in the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.