Vera Therapeutics selloff Friday overblown, says JPMorgan

JPMorgan analyst Anupam Rama says Vera Therapeutics (VERA) shares closed down 20% on Friday, driven by Otsuka’s announcement that the biologics license application for sibeprenlimab in IgA nephropathy would be filed with a pre-filled syringe that can be administered at home. The firm views the selloff as overblown, saying it does not see Otsuka’s strategy as a “lay-up by any means and, certainly, there is regulatory risk.” Importantly, Vera’s atacicept is the only b-cell modulator to have at-home exposure over a two-year period and that has studied this regimen in a pivotal study, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan continues to see a trade into the mid-$40s per share for Vera shares on positive ORIGIN-3 data. It keeps an Overweight rating on the name.