The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys Shares of 59,418 Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 59,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma by 4.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,630,000 after purchasing an additional 23,567 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after buying an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Alerce Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,080,000. NEA Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $32.67 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of -42.44 and a beta of 0.44. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $32.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 8.61 and a quick ratio of 8.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.27.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current 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.