Values First Advisors Inc. Takes $494,000 Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 71.4% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 28,071 shares during the period. Matisse Capital bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the first quarter valued at about $312,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1,054.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 21,384 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the first quarter valued at about $412,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $34.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.71 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $35.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.26.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 722,664 shares of company stock worth $3,165,268. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

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.