Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Position in Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) by 47.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 841,313 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 269,315 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Vera Therapeutics were worth $35,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VERA. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Vera Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Vera Therapeutics by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 109.4% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 9,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 4,914 shares in the last quarter. 99.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VERA. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vera Therapeutics from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.67.

Vera Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Vera Therapeutics stock opened at $26.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 13.76, a current ratio of 13.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.88. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.48 and a 52 week high of $51.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -10.20 and a beta of 1.17.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.11. As a group, analysts expect that Vera Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vera Therapeutics news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $730,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,993,989.22. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

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.