Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Purchased by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,505 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 14.9% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 155,835 shares of the company's stock worth $4,483,000 after acquiring an additional 20,206 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 5,691 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 4.1 %

VRNA traded up $2.54 on Friday, reaching $64.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,881,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,403,909. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.44 and a beta of 0.41. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $65.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.68 and its 200 day moving average is $37.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $57.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $495,428.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,078,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,543,906.24. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $494,507.04. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,743,881 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

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.