Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Hits New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $22.34 and last traded at $24.02, with a volume of 2705814 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.67.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.16 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 13.76 and a quick ratio of 13.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $29.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.34.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.11. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $730,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,993,989.22. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 21.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vera Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,639 shares of the company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,203 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. 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.