Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Reduces Stock Position in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lessened its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) by 39.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,191 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,017 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C’s holdings in Vera Therapeutics were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VERA. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Vera Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $163,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $248,000. Institutional investors own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Down 4.9 %

NASDAQ:VERA opened at $43.44 on Friday. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $9.24 and a one year high of $50.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.19 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 21.43 and a quick ratio of 21.43.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.06). Sell-side analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 23,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.05, for a total value of $1,064,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 307,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,182,110.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 23,125 shares of Vera Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.05, for a total transaction of $1,064,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 307,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,182,110.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Beth C. Seidenberg sold 1,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.01, for a total transaction of $49,445.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 160,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,395.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,398 shares of company stock worth $2,275,656. Company insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VERA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Vera Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

Vera Therapeutics Company 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.