MPM Bioimpact LLC Has $9.99 Million Stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• MPM Bioimpact LLC increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 61.3% in Q1, now holding 415,719 shares worth approximately $9.99 million.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Patrick G. Enright purchasing 209,393 shares at an average price of $20.87, raising his total ownership to 3.57 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Vera Therapeutics, with HC Wainwright setting a new target price of $85.00, while Wedbush lowered its price target to $26.00.

MPM Bioimpact LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) by 61.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 415,719 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 157,931 shares during the quarter. Vera Therapeutics accounts for about 1.7% of MPM Bioimpact LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. MPM Bioimpact LLC owned about 0.65% of Vera Therapeutics worth $9,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,754,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,212,000 after buying an additional 377,783 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 18.4% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,675,367 shares of the company's stock worth $40,243,000 after purchasing an additional 260,188 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,437,339 shares of the company's stock worth $60,785,000 after purchasing an additional 340,488 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,202,466 shares of the company's stock worth $50,852,000 after purchasing an additional 201,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock worth $48,634,000 after purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In related news, Director Patrick G. Enright purchased 209,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.87 per share, for a total transaction of $4,370,031.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,569,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,495,924.14. This trade represents a 6.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 16.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VERA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VERA traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.19. 2,747,955 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,781,418. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 17.03 and a quick ratio of 17.03. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.53 and a twelve month high of $51.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $22.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.31.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.38). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.62) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current 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.