Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) is Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 position. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC owned about 0.90% of Verona Pharma worth $33,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EMC Capital Management raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VRNA. Cowen began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $81.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the business's 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 owns 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at $22,459,883.04. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $234,126.56. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 359,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,232,737.14. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 365,064 shares of company stock worth $3,208,741 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 2.6%

Verona Pharma stock traded up $1.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.31. The company had a trading volume of 914,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,663. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $63.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.25. The stock has a market cap 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. As a group, analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.