Octagon Capital Advisors LP Sells 1,263,936 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Octagon Capital Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 68.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 571,264 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,263,936 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma makes up approximately 4.4% of Octagon Capital Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Octagon Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 0.71% of Verona Pharma worth $26,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.1% during the fourth 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 period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $67.53 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $74.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.17 and a beta of 0.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $63.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.55.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 note on Wednesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following 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 sold 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

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.

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