Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA – Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

VERA has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $76.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vera Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.93.

Read Our Latest Analysis on VERA

Vera Therapeutics Trading Up 2.8%

Vera Therapeutics stock opened at $30.61 on Friday. Vera Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $56.05. The company has a quick ratio of 10.92, a current ratio of 10.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.19 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.60.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $10.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics will post -6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vera Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $684,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,704,028. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 1,579.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 108,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after buying an additional 101,699 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 99.5% during the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 85,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 42,787 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 569.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 104,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,000 after buying an additional 89,253 shares during the last quarter. Odyssean LLC boosted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 192.6% in the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 60,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after acquiring an additional 39,495 shares during the period. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,663,000. Institutional investors own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

About Vera Therapeutics

(Get Free Report)

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing treatments for immune-mediated diseases. Headquartered in Brisbane, California, the company focuses on therapies intended to address underlying immune processes involved in conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Its lead investigational candidate, atacicept, is a fusion protein designed to inhibit BAFF and APRIL, proteins that support B-cell activity and antibody production. Vera is studying atacicept for IgA nephropathy and other autoimmune diseases.

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