Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 972,614 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 1,223,724 shares.The stock last traded at $39.3340 and had previously closed at $42.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Vera Therapeutics from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Evercore set a $91.00 price objective on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.00.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 13.64, a current ratio of 13.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 0.92.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.33) by ($0.36). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -6.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 22,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total value of $1,010,991.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 235,244 shares in the company, valued at $10,362,498.20. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,951 shares of company stock worth $2,392,387. Company insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERA. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 207,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,497,000 after purchasing an additional 45,214 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 440,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,804,000 after purchasing an additional 141,615 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 82.4% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 679,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,652,000 after purchasing an additional 307,243 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,570,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,805,000 after buying an additional 379,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $13,738,000. 99.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.