Vestal Point Capital LP Buys 1,425,000 Shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• Vestal Point Capital LP increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 132.6% in Q1, making it the firm's 5th largest holding, comprising 4.3% of its portfolio.
• Other institutional investors, including AlphaQuest LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly raised their positions in Vera Therapeutics during the same quarter.
• Despite recent investments, Vera Therapeutics reported an EPS of ($1.20) for the last quarter, missing estimates and showing a decline from ($0.62) in the previous year.

Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) by 132.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,500,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,425,000 shares during the period. Vera Therapeutics comprises approximately 4.3% of Vestal Point Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Vestal Point Capital LP owned approximately 3.92% of Vera Therapeutics worth $60,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VERA. Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,634,000 after purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 8.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,754,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,212,000 after purchasing an additional 377,783 shares during the period. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,437,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,785,000 after purchasing an additional 340,488 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 18.4% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,675,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,243,000 after purchasing an additional 260,188 shares during the period. Finally, MPM Bioimpact LLC acquired a new position in Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $10,902,000. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Vera Therapeutics stock traded up $2.29 on Friday, reaching $24.19. 2,747,955 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,418. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.17.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.38). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Patrick G. Enright bought 209,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.87 per share, for a total transaction of $4,370,031.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,569,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,495,924.14. This represents a 6.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

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.