Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 307,272 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,878,632 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 307,272 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 2.35% of Verona Pharma worth $54,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 2.5 %

VRNA stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $38.97. 246,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 933,995. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $36.40 and its 200-day moving average is $26.86. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $40.97.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of 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 target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $511,128.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,202,896.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

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.