New York State Common Retirement Fund Makes New $285,000 Investment in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rosalind Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the third quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. now owns 275,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,912,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Cahill Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $548,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $465,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $849,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $67.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.13 and a beta of 0.39. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $70.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.91. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This trade represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.