Centiva Capital LP Lowers Stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Centiva Capital LP lowered its stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 37.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,135 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC purchased a new stake 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 valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $39.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.55 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 fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $40.97.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced 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 business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at $66,601,617.36. This trade represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRNA. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price 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 MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

About Verona Pharma

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.