The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 45,741 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 77.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,159 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,741 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.13% of Verona Pharma worth $3,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company's stock worth $44,722,000 after buying an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,966,000. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,177,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 54.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company's stock worth $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares during the period. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $16,483,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $43.83.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.50. 626,985 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,094,347. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.37. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $40.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.