Boothbay Fund Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,170 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,100 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma comprises about 0.5% of Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Verona Pharma worth $20,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,150,000 after purchasing an additional 498,338 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,975,000 after purchasing an additional 51,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 791,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,739,000 after purchasing an additional 231,376 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Verona Pharma Stock Up 6.4 %

VRNA traded up $4.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $73.21. 5,642,750 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,709. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $78.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.50 and a 200 day moving average of $51.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.13 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.50.

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.