Vestal Point Capital LP Raises Stock Holdings in 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 holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) by 132.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,500,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,425,000 shares during the quarter. Vera Therapeutics accounts for about 4.3% of Vestal Point Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Vestal Point Capital LP owned 3.92% of Vera Therapeutics worth $60,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,500 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 404.7% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 3,213 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $264,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Vera Therapeutics by 1,779.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 7,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VERA shares. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vera Therapeutics 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 40,607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.35 per share, with a total value of $907,566.45. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,596,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,383,853.55. This represents a 1.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Up 10.5%

NASDAQ:VERA traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.19. 2,747,955 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,693. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 17.03, a current ratio of 17.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company's 50 day moving average is $22.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.43. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.53 and a twelve month high of $51.61.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.38). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.62) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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.