Legato Capital Management LLC Purchases 14,183 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 132.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,853 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at about $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at about $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $494,507.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,177,296 shares in the company, valued at $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 owns 2,671,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ VRNA traded up $2.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.21. 1,881,892 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,403,909. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $65.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.07. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

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.