BRISBANE, Calif.—Fordyce Marshall, the President and CEO of Vera Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA), recently executed a series of stock transactions, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On December 11, Marshall sold 17,500 shares of Class A Common Stock, generating proceeds of approximately $821,523. The shares were sold at prices ranging from $46.9112 to $47.65. The transaction comes as VERA shares have surged nearly 200% year-to-date, according to InvestingPro data.
In addition to the sales, Marshall acquired a total of 17,500 shares through stock option exercises at a price of $2.8968 per share, amounting to $50,694. These transactions were conducted as part of a pre-arranged trading plan under Rule 10b5-1, which allows insiders to set up a trading plan for selling stocks they own.
Following these transactions, Marshall holds 85,942 shares directly, with an additional 222,030 shares held indirectly by a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT). Vera Therapeutics, based in Brisbane, California, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for immunological diseases.
In other recent news, Vera Therapeutics has been making significant strides in its clinical development and strategic planning. The company's lead product candidate, atacicept, demonstrated its efficacy in treating IgA nephropathy (IgAN) during the ORIGIN Phase 2b clinical trial, and has been granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation. Vera Therapeutics is set to present long-term results from this trial at the upcoming American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2024.
TD Cowen and Evercore ISI have maintained their Buy and Outperform ratings on Vera Therapeutics, respectively, reflecting confidence in the company's strategic direction and the clinical advancement of atacicept. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) has also reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Vera Therapeutics, raising its price target from $62.00 to $72.00.
Vera Therapeutics is expanding its clinical program for atacicept, aiming to treat a wider range of autoimmune kidney diseases. The company plans to initiate the ORIGIN Extend study in Q4 2024 and the PIONEER study in 2025, which will evaluate atacicept's efficacy in broader populations and other autoimmune glomerular diseases.
In leadership developments, the company has appointed David Johnson as its new Chief Operating Officer, bringing valuable experience from his previous roles. These are the recent developments at Vera Therapeutics, as reported by various sources.
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