Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 5,691 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth about $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $494,507.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,177,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $46.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $46.97. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.85 and its 200 day moving average is $29.55.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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