Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,950,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the May 15th total of 7,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Currently, 18.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VERA opened at $20.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of -6.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.17. Vera Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.53 and a 52 week high of $51.61. The company has a current ratio of 27.68, a quick ratio of 27.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.