Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,835 Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $305,000. First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $16,483,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $849,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $465,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $67.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.40 and a beta of 0.41. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $68.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $64,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,276,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,380,000. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $116,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,177,512 shares in the company, valued at $75,887,560. This trade represents a 0.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 710,888 shares of company stock valued at $3,559,881 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Company 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.