Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management trimmed its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 3.2% in Q4, leaving it with 1,392,421 shares (about 2.18% of the company) valued at roughly $70.51 million.
• Insiders sold 56,441 shares worth about $2.42 million over the past three months (including CFO Sean Grant and CEO Marshall Fordyce), reducing insider ownership to 15.9%; the CEO’s sale was executed under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan.
• Vera trades near $37.11 with a market cap of $2.65 billion and recently reported an EPS miss, yet analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $81.45.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,392,421 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,700 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 2.18% of Vera Therapeutics worth $70,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Vera Therapeutics by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 703 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Vera Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Vera Therapeutics by 192.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Vera Therapeutics by 414.2% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Vera Therapeutics by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VERA opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.18. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.76 and a 52-week high of $56.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 13.64, a current ratio of 13.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.34) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.72) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on VERA. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Vera Therapeutics from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Vera Therapeutics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.45.

Insider Transactions at Vera Therapeutics

In other Vera Therapeutics news, CFO Sean Grant sold 4,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.98, for a total value of $207,759.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,793,318.38. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 22,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total value of $1,010,991.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,244 shares in the company, valued at $10,362,498.20. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 56,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,416,902 over the last three months. 15.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies that harness the body's own regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By leveraging a proprietary protein engineering platform, the company designs Treg-selective cytokine variants intended to restore immune balance and provide targeted, disease-modifying effects. Its pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical candidates aimed at indications characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vera Therapeutics collaborates with leading academic and research institutions to advance its development programs.

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