Jennison Associates LLC Has $50.09 Million Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,740,886 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 612,854 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 2.14% of Verona Pharma worth $50,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. The trade was a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,141,944 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,952. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright raised their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of VRNA stock traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.08. 373,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,648. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.33 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $33.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $40.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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.