117,100 Shares in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Bought by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 117,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,438,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Verona Pharma at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company's stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company's stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at $22,459,883.04. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,232,737.14. This represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 365,064 shares of company stock worth $3,208,741. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,128,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,302,485. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $76.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.38 and a beta of 0.20.

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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRNA. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on 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 increased 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.50.

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.