Swedbank AB Increases Stock Holdings in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• Swedbank AB boosted its Vera Therapeutics stake by 142.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 121,200 shares valued at about $6.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains extremely high, with 99.21% of Vera Therapeutics held by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Several other funds also added or initiated positions during the period.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Marshall Fordyce and insider William D. Turner, while analysts remain mixed: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $79.60.

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) by 142.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,200 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 71,200 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.19% of Vera Therapeutics worth $6,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $911,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 440,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,804,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,190,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,720,000 after buying an additional 189,545 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 427,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,414,000 after buying an additional 130,248 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,000,000. 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, insider William D. Turner sold 2,187 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.98, for a total transaction of $91,810.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,239.74. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 22,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total value of $1,010,991.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,362,498.20. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,441 shares of company stock worth $2,416,902. 15.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERA has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vera Therapeutics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.60.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VERA opened at $36.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.96 and a 200-day moving average of $40.35. The company has a current ratio of 13.64, a quick ratio of 13.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.76 and a 52 week high of $56.05.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.33) by ($0.36). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.54 EPS for the current year.

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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