Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,707 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,872 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. owned 0.24% of Verona Pharma worth $8,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA traded up $3.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $53.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,173,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,690. 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's fifty day moving average price is $41.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.34. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $55.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.94 and a beta of 0.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $50.57.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.