Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New Investment in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the fourth 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 raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $72.26 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.64 and a beta of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.63. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $74.18.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.47 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VRNA. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $811,432.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,107,040.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,080 shares of company stock worth $2,194,582 over the last quarter. 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.