Insider Selling: Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) COO Sells $108,266.42 in Stock

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) COO David Lee Johnson sold 2,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.98, for a total value of $108,266.42. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,619.46. This represents a 5.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of VERA opened at $40.79 on Friday. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.53 and a 1 year high of $56.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 12.21 and a quick ratio of 12.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 1.16.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.34) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.72) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $48.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $75.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $55.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Pivotal Research set a $73.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Vera Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies that harness the body’s own regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By leveraging a proprietary protein engineering platform, the company designs Treg-selective cytokine variants intended to restore immune balance and provide targeted, disease-modifying effects. Its pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical candidates aimed at indications characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vera Therapeutics collaborates with leading academic and research institutions to advance its development programs.