First Turn Management LLC Makes New $16.48 Million Investment in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 572,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,483,000. Verona Pharma makes up about 2.6% of First Turn Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. First Turn Management LLC owned approximately 0.71% of Verona Pharma as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $154,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 9.0 %

Shares of VRNA traded up $3.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,439,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,393. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.87. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.46 and a beta of 0.42. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $40.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at $61,714,024.80. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,141,944 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,952. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.