TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Makes New $12.79 Million Investment in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• TimesSquare Capital Management opened a new position in Vera Therapeutics, buying 252,462 shares worth about $12.8 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represented roughly 0.39% of the company at the time of filing.
• Institutional interest in VERA remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors owning 99.21% of the stock. Several firms, including Vanguard and Armistice Capital, increased their holdings, signaling continued support from big investors.
• Analysts are mostly positive on Vera Therapeutics, with 10 Buy ratings versus one Hold and one Sell, and an average price target of $79. The stock was down 3.2% and the company recently reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of ($1.69) per share.

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 252,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,785,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Vera Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VERA. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 3,100,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,036,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares during the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 1,700,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,402,000 after purchasing an additional 550,000 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,738,000. Armistice Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 294.1% during the 3rd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 536,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,576,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,570,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,805,000 after purchasing an additional 379,748 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VERA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of 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 shares of Vera Therapeutics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore set a $91.00 price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In other news, COO David Lee Johnson sold 2,579 shares of the company'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 $108,266.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,919,619.46. This represents a 5.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sean Grant sold 4,949 shares of the company'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 value of $207,759.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,181 shares in the company, valued at $4,793,318.38. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,941 shares of company stock worth $3,096,592. Company insiders own 15.90% of the company's stock.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of VERA opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.00 and a beta of 0.96. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.76 and a 1 year high of $56.05. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $39.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 13.64 and a quick ratio of 13.64.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.33) by ($0.36). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vera Therapeutics 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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