Janus Henderson Group PLC Purchases 624,370 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 59.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 624,370 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 2.09% of Verona Pharma worth $77,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,637,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock worth $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 Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at $15,716,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 791,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,739,000 after buying an additional 231,376 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $178,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 74,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $664,004.80. The trade was a 21.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.31. 914,905 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,290,388. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $74.18. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.50 and a 200 day moving average of $53.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.14 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $41.47 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share 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.