Bellevue Group AG Boosts Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,220,059 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,830 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG owned about 1.52% of Verona Pharma worth $35,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRNA. NEA Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,756,000 after acquiring an additional 476,190 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company's stock worth $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the 2nd 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. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,383,544 shares of company stock worth $6,188,952 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of VRNA stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.63. 697,825 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,187,821. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $40.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.35. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -20.64 and a beta of 0.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.