Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Sold by Avidity Partners Management LP

Avidity Partners Management LP lowered its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 780,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,400 shares during the quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP owned about 0.98% of Verona Pharma worth $15,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 950.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $226,000. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 15,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at $354,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.37. 961,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 565,189. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.01. The company has a quick ratio of 18.40, a current ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.36 and a beta of 0.35. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $23.07.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.08). As a group, analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total value of $71,046.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,621,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,138,241.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

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.