BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 73.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,740 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,471 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,750,000 after acquiring an additional 148,656 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $811,432.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,377,176 shares in the company, valued at $129,107,040.48. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 74,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $664,004.80. This trade represents a 21.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 365,064 shares of company stock worth $3,208,741 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $72.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.86 and a beta of 0.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.30. 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 plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $75.60.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. Equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.