Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Sold by Matisse Capital

Matisse Capital decreased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Matisse Capital’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after buying an additional 1,123,166 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,356,000 after buying an additional 69,601 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after buying an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,750,000 after buying an additional 148,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 valued at $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $58.98 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $60.81. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of -30.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm 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 -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 954,888 shares of company stock worth $4,755,881. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.14.

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.