Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading 7.4% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) was up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $23.39 and last traded at $23.51. 538,851 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,341,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VERA shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Up 10.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 17.03 and a current ratio of 17.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.35.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.38). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patrick G. Enright purchased 209,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.87 per share, with a total value of $4,370,031.91. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,569,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,495,924.14. This represents a 6.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,754,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,212,000 after purchasing an additional 377,783 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 600,000 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,675,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,243,000 after purchasing an additional 260,188 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,437,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,785,000 after purchasing an additional 340,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,294,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,513,000 after purchasing an additional 92,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.