Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 77.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,159 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,741 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.13% of Verona Pharma worth $3,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 101.3% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 68,264 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,012,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth $154,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $40.50 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $40.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRNA. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 over the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.