Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.84, but opened at $36.88. Vera Therapeutics shares last traded at $35.09, with a volume of 141,886 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VERA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 13.76, a current ratio of 13.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.61 and a beta of 1.15.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last announced its 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). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. 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 Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total transaction of $753,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,701,521.94. The trade was a 16.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,500 shares of company stock worth $2,305,625. Company insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 82.0% during the fourth 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 period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 8.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,954,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,390,000 after purchasing an additional 158,451 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 41.1% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 426,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,830,000 after purchasing an additional 124,197 shares during the period. First Turn Management LLC lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 53.3% during the third quarter. First Turn Management LLC now owns 326,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,431,000 after purchasing an additional 113,550 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Vera Therapeutics by 316.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 148,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,355,000 after purchasing an additional 112,475 shares during the period. 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.