Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires Shares of 559,728 Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 559,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,103,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $511,128.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at $61,202,896.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA stock opened at $42.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.89 and a beta of 0.46. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $43.73.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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