AdvisorShares Investments LLC Acquires New Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $838,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $16,103,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $15,716,000. Finally, Silverarc Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 516,014 shares of the company's stock worth $23,964,000 after purchasing an additional 167,148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 74,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $664,004.80. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,080 shares of company stock worth $2,194,582 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.73. 1,449,011 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,270,611. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.02. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.20. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $74.18.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. Research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Company 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.