Duquesne Family Office LLC Purchases 201,535 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 887,580 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 201,535 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma comprises about 1.1% of Duquesne Family Office LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Duquesne Family Office LLC owned approximately 1.11% of Verona Pharma worth $41,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 valued at $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 8.5% during the 4th 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 raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,150,000 after acquiring an additional 498,338 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,975,000 after acquiring an additional 51,322 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $37,637,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 74,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $664,004.80. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 250,080 shares of company stock valued at $2,194,582 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of VRNA opened at $70.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.49 and a beta of 0.20. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $74.18. 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 fifty day moving average of $63.34 and a 200-day moving average of $52.53.

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

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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