First Light Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. $VERA

First Light Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) by 63.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 313,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 555,770 shares during the period. Vera Therapeutics makes up 1.1% of First Light Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. First Light Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vera Therapeutics were worth $12,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VERA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Vera Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 46,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.30, for a total value of $1,956,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,429,346.20. This trade represents a 23.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,337,770. Company insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VERA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Needham & Company LLC set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vera Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.58.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VERA opened at $35.45 on Monday. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.07 and a twelve month high of $56.05. The company has a current ratio of 13.64, a quick ratio of 13.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.40 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.09.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.33) by ($0.36). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vera Therapeutics Company Profile

Vera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies that harness the body’s own regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By leveraging a proprietary protein engineering platform, the company designs Treg-selective cytokine variants intended to restore immune balance and provide targeted, disease-modifying effects. Its pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical candidates aimed at indications characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vera Therapeutics collaborates with leading academic and research institutions to advance its development programs.