Claro Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 7,273 Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $38.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -19.84 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.87. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $40.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRNA shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $511,128.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,202,896.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,141,944 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,952 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

About Verona Pharma

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.