LPL Financial LLC Has $1.40 Million Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 108.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,033 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,598 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in 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 in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRNA shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $74.67.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $58.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.24. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.69 and a beta of 0.16. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $70.40.

About Verona Pharma

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.