Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $688,000 Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shilanski & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 307,272 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

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

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA opened at $58.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.10. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $70.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of -30.26 and a beta of 0.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

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.