The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $5.89 Million Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,730 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,571 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.16% of Verona Pharma worth $5,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,103,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,150,000 after buying an additional 498,338 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $15,716,000. Finally, Silverarc Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 516,014 shares of the company's stock worth $23,964,000 after acquiring an additional 167,148 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $664,004.80. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 250,080 shares of company stock valued at $2,194,582 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of VRNA opened at $69.14 on Thursday. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $74.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.01 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $41.47 million. Research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Eight 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Company 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.

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