Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Trading Down 3% on Insider Selling

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) shares dropped 3% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $45.99 and last traded at $46.54. Approximately 66,123 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,299,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.97.

Specifically, Director Maha Katabi bought 161,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $4,999,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,628,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,481,826. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Maha Katabi acquired 161,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $4,999,990.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,628,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,481,826. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph R. Young sold 5,714 shares of Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $228,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,126,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 526,551 shares of company stock valued at $21,533,345 over the last three months. 21.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VERA shares. Raymond James raised shares of Vera Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $37.00 in a report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.29.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -20.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 7.71, a current ratio of 7.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 163.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 94.8% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 810.4% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares in 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.