Legato Capital Management LLC Acquires 14,183 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 132.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,853 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth about $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 5.7 %

VRNA opened at $62.70 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.32. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $63.50. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the company’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 $64,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,276,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,380,000. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reissued 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.14.

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.