Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,952 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,356,000 after purchasing an additional 69,601 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,750,000 after buying an additional 148,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $69.63 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $69.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.27 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 67,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $338,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,007,816 shares in the company, valued at $75,039,080. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 477,120 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,065 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.