16,458 Shares in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Bought by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $251,000. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth $1,758,000. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth $11,177,000. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 67.7% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 44,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 39.0% in the second quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 939,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,586,000 after buying an additional 263,819 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $46.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.46. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $46.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.85 and a 200-day 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.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released 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 business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

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.