Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Sold by Caligan Partners LP

Caligan Partners LP reduced its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,436,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 406,878 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma accounts for approximately 13.1% of Caligan Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Caligan Partners LP owned approximately 1.79% of Verona Pharma worth $41,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $154,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VRNA. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 697,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.64 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.43. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $40.76.

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

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on 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 owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,383,544 shares of company stock valued at $6,188,952 over the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.