RA Capital Management L.P. Sells 3,242,823 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

RA Capital Management L.P. lowered its position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,766,830 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,242,823 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma makes up about 1.1% of RA Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. RA Capital Management L.P. owned 2.21% of Verona Pharma worth $82,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,103,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,707 shares of the company's stock worth $8,996,000 after acquiring an additional 37,872 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,766 shares of the company's stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 4,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRNA shares. 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 assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 74,440 shares in the company, valued at $664,004.80. This represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,232,737.14. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 250,080 shares of company stock valued at $2,194,582. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.47 on Friday, reaching $72.73. 1,449,011 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,270,611. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $74.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.10 and a 200-day moving average of $52.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.20. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.