Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC Takes Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 43,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,032,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group raised 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital upgraded Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. HC Wainwright reissued 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. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.4 %

Verona Pharma stock opened at $63.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $65.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.77.

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.