Vera Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:VERA)

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 12,873 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,040% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,129 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 46,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.30, for a total value of $1,956,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,429,346.20. This trade represents a 23.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 4,071.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,074,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025,262 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,663,000. Odyssean LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 192.6% in the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 60,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,000 after purchasing an additional 39,495 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 7.8% during the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 564,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,232,000 after buying an additional 40,900 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $97,000. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VERA traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.52. 934,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,472,140. Vera Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $21.15 and a 1 year high of $56.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.91. The company has a quick ratio of 10.92, a current ratio of 10.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.88 and a beta of 0.92.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($1.52) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics will post -6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on VERA shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $125.00 price target on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vera Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.15.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

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.