Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $965,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 432,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,070,000 after buying an additional 23,100 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,716,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock worth $68,975,000 after purchasing an additional 51,322 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock worth $85,150,000 after buying an additional 498,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silverarc Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 516,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,964,000 after purchasing an additional 167,148 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $234,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,232,737.14. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 250,080 shares of company stock worth $2,194,582. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of VRNA traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.08. 317,854 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,265,066. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.18 and a beta of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.41. 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 plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $74.18.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Verona Pharma

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.