Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $225,000 in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,750,000 after acquiring an additional 148,656 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 791,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,739,000 after acquiring an additional 231,376 shares during the last quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 194.4% in the fourth quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 212,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,845,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 208,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 31,432 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $811,432.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares in the company, valued at $129,107,040.48. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright lifted 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, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment 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 currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $67.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.17 and a beta of 0.20. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $74.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.55. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current 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.

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