Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC Has $33.47 Million Stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 720,657 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 94,205 shares during the period. Verona Pharma makes up approximately 4.4% of Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC owned 0.90% of Verona Pharma worth $33,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,637,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after acquiring an additional 624,370 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock worth $85,150,000 after acquiring an additional 498,338 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,716,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $71.23. 267,917 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,160. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $74.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.33 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 74,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $664,004.80. This represents a 21.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.