Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 59.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 624,370 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 2.09% of Verona Pharma worth $77,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock worth $85,150,000 after acquiring an additional 498,338 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock worth $68,975,000 after acquiring an additional 51,322 shares during the period. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 887,580 shares of the company's stock worth $41,219,000 after acquiring an additional 201,535 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.
Verona Pharma Price Performance
Verona Pharma stock traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.31. 914,905 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,293,188. The stock's fifty day moving average is $63.68 and its 200-day moving average is $54.53. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $74.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.14 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.
Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma
In other Verona Pharma news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 74,440 shares in the company, valued at $664,004.80. This represents a 21.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Verona Pharma
Verona Pharma Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider Verona Pharma, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verona Pharma wasn't on the list.
While Verona Pharma currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
