Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Takes $941,000 Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,750,000 after buying an additional 148,656 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $36,739,000 after buying an additional 231,376 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 660,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,650,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atika Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 194.4% during the 4th 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 period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,449,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,611. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.10 and its 200 day moving average is $52.02. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $74.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $811,432.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $129,107,040.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 position. 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 company insiders.

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.