Atria Investments Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Atria Investments Inc cut its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,833 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,221 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA traded down $3.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.55. 881,257 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,406. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.10 and a beta of 0.39. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $70.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.11. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma Profile

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.