Stifel Financial Corp Invests $474,000 in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 16,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third 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. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This trade represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $46.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.46. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $46.97.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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