Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 31,141 Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. by 1.1%, now owning 2,918,423 shares worth about $70.1 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Vera Therapeutics reported a loss of ($1.20) earnings per share, which was below analyst expectations, and it anticipates an average loss of -$2.89 EPS for the current year.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Zurcher Kantonalbank, increased their positions in Vera Therapeutics during the first quarter, reflecting growing interest in the company's stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,918,423 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,141 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.58% of Vera Therapeutics worth $70,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,377,049 shares of the company's stock worth $185,107,000 after purchasing an additional 437,940 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. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,415,179 shares of the company's stock worth $59,848,000 after purchasing an additional 431,178 shares during the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 78.8% during the fourth quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 1,261,246 shares of the company's stock worth $53,338,000 after purchasing an additional 556,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Vera Therapeutics by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,202,466 shares of the company's stock worth $50,852,000 after buying an additional 201,573 shares during the period. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VERA. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wedbush dropped their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In other Vera Therapeutics news, Director Patrick G. Enright purchased 209,393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.87 per share, with a total value of $4,370,031.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,569,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,495,924.14. This represents a 6.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Vera Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VERA traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.54. 1,674,239 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,650,280. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 1.17. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.53 and a 1-year high of $51.61. The company has a current ratio of 17.03, a quick ratio of 17.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.62) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vera Therapeutics Profile

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.