Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.29 and last traded at $46.7050, with a volume of 355772 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERA has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $75.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vera Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.58.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Up 3.8%

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 market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.53 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.01.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.20) by ($0.06). During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.85) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Young sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.06, for a total transaction of $435,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 47,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,390,201.34. This trade represents a 23.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 16.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 25.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 14.8% during 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. 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.