29,513 Shares in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Bought by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,177,000. NEA Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after buying an additional 317,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,925,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $35.66 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $40.13. 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 has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.62.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 80,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total value of $354,641.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,749,501.04. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,141,944 shares of company stock worth $5,004,952. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

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.