Two Sigma Advisers LP Takes $882,000 Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRNA. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company's stock worth $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.13.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $84.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,838,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,692. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.17 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.75 and a one year high of $85.27.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. Research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 74,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 1,165,064 shares of company stock worth $10,676,335. 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.