Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 498,338 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 37.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 498,338 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.29% of Verona Pharma worth $85,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA stock traded up $0.47 during trading 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $63.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.02. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.16.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $234,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 359,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,232,737.14. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the company'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 $811,432.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,080 shares of company stock valued at $2,194,582 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VRNA shares. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.