Trexquant Investment LP Takes Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 31,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 6.9 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $57.91 on Thursday. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $70.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.16 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

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.