29,513 Shares in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 29,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $465,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth about $548,000. Cahill Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth about $223,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% in the third quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. now owns 275,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,912,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 985,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,341,000 after buying an additional 45,500 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 0.8 %

VRNA stock opened at $35.66 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.42. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $40.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,141,944 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,952 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

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.