Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 338,425 Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 338,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,716,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.42% of Verona Pharma at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shilanski & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,000. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company's stock worth $1,154,000 after buying an additional 14,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,996,000 after buying an additional 37,872 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of VRNA stock traded down $1.14 on Wednesday, hitting $72.07. 1,469,983 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,256,562. 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 $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.54 and a beta of 0.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.22. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $74.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate 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.