Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $65.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Approximately 1,561,972 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 84% from the previous session’s volume of 848,636 shares.The stock last traded at $32.07 and had previously closed at $31.74.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on VERA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -11.84 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 13.76 and a quick ratio of 13.76.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by ($0.06). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.56) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.