Eventide Asset Management LLC Buys 1,898,065 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 359.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Verona Pharma makes up approximately 1.2% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $69,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,383,544 shares of company stock worth $6,188,952 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $39.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.46 and a 200 day moving average of $25.09. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $40.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

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