Wolfe Research Upgrades Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) to “Strong-Buy”

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) was upgraded by analysts at Wolfe Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vera Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.44.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VERA opened at $38.07 on Monday. 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 fifty day moving average is $41.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.59 and a beta of 1.11. Vera Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $31.77 and a fifty-two week high of $51.61.

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

Insider Transactions at Vera Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $730,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,993,989.22. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,500 shares of company stock worth $2,305,625. Corporate insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Vera Therapeutics by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 141,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,003,000 after purchasing an additional 7,895 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 28,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 4,709 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 12.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,831 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 813,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,418,000 after purchasing an additional 366,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

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.