ADAR1 Capital Management LLC Purchases 19,100 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 191.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 29,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $1,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA stock opened at $53.90 on Monday. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $70.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.07 and a beta of 0.16.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.