Nicholas Investment Partners LP Makes New $7.19 Million Investment in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 154,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,190,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.19% of Verona Pharma as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $234,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,737.14. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,546,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA traded up $1.78 on Friday, reaching $71.31. 914,905 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,292,663. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $63.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.25. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of -37.14 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 current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. On average, analysts forecast 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.