Caxton Associates LP Acquires New Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,372,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $5,438,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 288.8% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the company's stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,637,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $838,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 0.7 %

VRNA opened at $72.25 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of -37.63 and a beta of 0.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $63.28 and its 200-day moving average is $52.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $234,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,080 shares of company stock worth $2,194,582. 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.

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