Eventide Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,425,846 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Verona Pharma makes up 1.2% of Eventide Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned 3.02% of Verona Pharma worth $69,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at about $373,000. CWM LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 101.3% during the second 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 bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $1,012,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,383,544 shares of company stock worth $6,188,952. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of 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 raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 0.7 %

Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.63. 697,825 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,187,821. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $40.76. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $34.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.35. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -20.64 and a beta of 0.42.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

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.