AlphaCentric Advisors LLC cut its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 67.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,211 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,789 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC's holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,505 shares of the company's stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 132.9% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company's stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,750,000 after purchasing an additional 148,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company's stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.
Verona Pharma Price Performance
Shares of VRNA traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.19. 777,420 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,493,033. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of -33.43 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.95. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $65.50.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $64,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,276,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,380,000. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
VRNA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $57.14.
View Our Latest Analysis on VRNA
About Verona Pharma
(
Free Report)
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.
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