Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) is NEA Management Company LLC’s 7th Largest Position

NEA Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma comprises 6.1% of NEA Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. NEA Management Company LLC owned approximately 6.91% of Verona Pharma worth $80,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after buying an additional 8,448 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 71.4% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 28,071 shares in the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 504,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,034,000 after purchasing an additional 86,809 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 563,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,209,000 after purchasing an additional 195,495 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised 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. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $29.66 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $30.73.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current 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.