Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Stock Price Down 7.3% – Should You Sell?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s share price was down 7.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.01 and last traded at $39.12. Approximately 128,823 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 387,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Vera Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.50.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.75 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 13.76 and a current ratio of 13.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.55 and its 200 day moving average is $40.95.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by ($0.21). On average, research analysts predict that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Beth C. Seidenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $720,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 131,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,318,490.59. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 19,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total value of $782,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 307,972 shares in the company, valued at $12,438,989.08. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,375 shares of company stock worth $3,078,181. Company insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 21.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 8.4% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 43,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 3,376 shares during the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.