Dorsey Wright & Associates Decreases Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Dorsey Wright & Associates cut its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,548 shares during the quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates’ holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $3,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of VRNA opened at $62.70 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $70.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -32.66 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

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.