Ikarian Capital LLC Has $6.04 Million Stock Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Ikarian Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 375,310 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,842 shares during the period. Verona Pharma makes up 0.7% of Ikarian Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Ikarian Capital LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $6,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. First Turn Management LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $23,981,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,377,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,390,000 after purchasing an additional 527,781 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,139,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,331,000 after purchasing an additional 299,299 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 817,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,159,000 after purchasing an additional 254,009 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,949,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total value of $71,046.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,621,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,138,241.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRNA has been the topic of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of VRNA stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $22.61. The company had a trading volume of 756,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,549. The company has a current ratio of 18.40, a quick ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of -29.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.85 and a 200-day moving average of $16.43. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $23.72.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.08). On average, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.