Rosalind Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Rosalind Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 275,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Verona Pharma makes up 5.0% of Rosalind Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Rosalind Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Verona Pharma worth $7,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 3.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.6 %

VRNA stock opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.49. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $39.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 0.00 % 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, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

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.