BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 176.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,211 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,434 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Turn Management LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,483,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth $859,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $465,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at $849,000. Finally, Rosalind Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 10.0% in the third quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. now owns 275,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $40.50 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $40.76. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.74 and a 200 day moving average of $26.28. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the sale, 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 1.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 over the last 90 days. Company 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.