Verition Fund Management LLC Takes Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,859,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $507,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 176.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 60,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 38,434 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 77.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 105,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 45,741 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $31,966,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ VRNA traded down $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $39.26. 526,817 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,301. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.40 and a 200 day moving average of $26.86. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $40.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.35 and a beta of 0.46.

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 (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

About Verona Pharma

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.