AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 22,541 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

AMI Asset Management Corp decreased its stake in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,541 shares during the quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,996,000 after purchasing an additional 37,872 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% during 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $16,103,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VRNA. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $51.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.98. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $55.42. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $619,156.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,672,560 shares in the company, valued at $59,885,812.80. This represents a 1.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,371,768 shares of company stock worth $6,583,565. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

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.