GAMMA Investing LLC Has $38,000 Stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 70.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,336 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $38,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 58.8% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 405,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,868,000 after purchasing an additional 150,210 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,925,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $859,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,630,000 after buying an additional 23,567 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $34.63 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.97 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 8.61 and a quick ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $35.28.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

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.