Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Bought by Bellevue Group AG

Bellevue Group AG grew its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,220,059 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,830 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG owned approximately 1.52% of Verona Pharma worth $35,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $373,000. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 101.3% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 68,264 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $1,012,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth about $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. The trade was a 4.47 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,383,544 shares of company stock valued at $6,188,952 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $39.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -20.64 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.35. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $40.76.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

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.