NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Makes New $479,000 Investment in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought 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 disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $720,000. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 132.9% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,117,000 after acquiring an additional 14,362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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 initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 74,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $664,004.80. This represents a 21.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,165,064 shares of company stock worth $10,676,335. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $3.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,949,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,416. 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 50 day simple moving average of $65.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.86. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.75 and a 12-month high of $81.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.10 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. On average, research analysts forecast 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.