Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Buys 45,500 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 985,076 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma makes up 1.5% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 1.21% of Verona Pharma worth $28,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. NEA Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,756,000 after purchasing an additional 476,190 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company's stock worth $47,925,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,657,000 after acquiring an additional 228,633 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.00 % 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. In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $619,156.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,672,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,885,812.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 868,840 shares of company stock valued at $3,805,519. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.98. The company had a trading volume of 884,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 910,435. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $35.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $30.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -22.71 and a beta of 0.44.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $39.33.

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.