GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 115,019 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 7,135.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,631 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,019 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.14% of Verona Pharma worth $7,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 during the period. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after purchasing an additional 624,370 shares during the period. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,975,000 after purchasing an additional 51,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ VRNA traded up $2.45 on Thursday, hitting $92.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,377,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,932. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $93.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.18 and a beta of 0.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. Equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,232,737.14. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 204,864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total value of $1,911,381.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,678,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $118,294,995.36. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,085,800 shares of company stock valued at $10,014,481. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.44.

Verona Pharma Company 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.