Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Invests $465,000 in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 1,054.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,412 shares of the company's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 21,384 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company's stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 2.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 255,609 shares of the company's stock worth $4,113,000 after purchasing an additional 6,645 shares in the last quarter. CM Management LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the first quarter worth approximately $563,000. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 45.1% in the first quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 817,833 shares of the company's stock worth $13,159,000 after purchasing an additional 254,009 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $35.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.68. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $40.13. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,141,944 shares of company stock worth $5,004,952 in the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Verona Pharma

Verona Pharma plc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases with unmet medical needs. The company's product candidate is ensifentrine, an inhaled and dual inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and PDE4 enzymes that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and cystic fibrosis.