Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC Takes Position in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. by purchasing 76,125 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million, representing about 0.12% ownership of the company.
• Several institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Vera, with hedge funds owning a total of 99.21% of the company's stock.
• Despite a recent stock increase of 10.5%, Vera Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($1.20) EPS, which missed analyst expectations by ($0.38).

Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 76,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,000. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of Vera Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 404.7% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 3,213 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 1,779.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the company's stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 7,846 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VERA traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.51. 1,008,994 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,479. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.27 and a 200-day moving average of $23.30. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.53 and a 52 week high of $51.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 17.03 and a current ratio of 17.03.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.38). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.62) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patrick G. Enright bought 40,607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.35 per share, for a total transaction of $907,566.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,596,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,383,853.55. The trade was a 1.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.