Townsquare Capital LLC Has $834,000 Stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,958 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.67.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $58.92 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $70.40. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.69 and a beta of 0.16.

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.