Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Purchased by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,505 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its position in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $59.33 on Wednesday. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $62.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.79 and a 200-day moving average of $37.32. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.14.

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.