Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $293,000 in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd has made a new investment of approximately $293,000 in Vera Therapeutics, buying 12,212 shares of the company during the first quarter.
• Several large investors recently adjusted their positions in Vera Therapeutics, with institutional investors now owning 99.21% of the company's stock.
• Vera Therapeutics reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.81), missing analyst estimates, while research firms reaffirmed a "buy" rating with varying target prices, the highest being $100.00.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,610,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,247,000 after buying an additional 1,300,410 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,462,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 170.8% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,153,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,788,000 after buying an additional 727,656 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 162.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,085,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,926,000 after buying an additional 671,881 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its position in Vera Therapeutics by 130.0% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company's stock.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of VERA traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,000,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,998. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.53 and a 12 month high of $51.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.55. The company has a current ratio of 27.68, a quick ratio of 27.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.98 and a beta of 1.17.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.75) by ($0.06). During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.56) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 acquired 209,393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.87 per share, for a total transaction of $4,370,031.91. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,569,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,495,924.14. The trade was a 6.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VERA. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.