Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 62.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,216 shares of the company’s stock after selling 234,788 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.18% of Verona Pharma worth $6,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,103,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,750,000 after purchasing an additional 148,656 shares in the last quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 194.4% in the fourth quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 212,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,845,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Finally, Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $58.92 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $70.40. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of -30.69 and a beta of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.67.

Verona Pharma 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.