Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 25.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,610 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $154,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $195,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $619,156.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,672,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,885,812.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 868,840 shares of company stock worth $3,805,519 over the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $38.15 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $39.38. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.77 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.33.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.