Walleye Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC acquired approximately 198,659 shares of Vera Therapeutics, valued at around $4.77 million, representing a stake of about 0.31% in the company.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Vera Therapeutics, with Price T Rowe Associates raising its stake by 8.6% to own over $114 million in shares.
• Analysts have set an average price target of $63.00 for Vera Therapeutics, with multiple firms maintaining a "buy" or "outperform" rating on the stock.

Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 198,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,772,000. Walleye Capital LLC owned about 0.31% of Vera Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 404.7% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 3,213 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 1,779.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 19.7% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knott David M Jr acquired a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patrick G. Enright acquired 209,393 shares of Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.87 per share, for a total transaction of $4,370,031.91. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,569,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,495,924.14. The trade was a 6.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of VERA stock traded down $0.65 on Friday, hitting $21.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,121,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,818. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.04 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average is $22.19 and its 200-day moving average is $23.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 17.03 and a current ratio of 17.03. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.53 and a 52-week high of $51.61.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.62) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VERA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

About Vera Therapeutics

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.