BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 38,434 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 176.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 60,211 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,434 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.08% of Verona Pharma worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 101.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 68,264 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,012,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.2 %

VRNA stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.50. The company had a trading volume of 626,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,347. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $40.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.28. 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 (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $511,128.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,202,896.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Verona Pharma Company 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.