Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Purchased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,585,385 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 142,819 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Verona Pharma were worth $31,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $354,000. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 5,032 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,467,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,821,000 after acquiring an additional 164,268 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $4,566,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.2% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 139,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 22,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.60.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 2.2 %

VRNA stock opened at $15.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -22.09 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 33.33 and a current ratio of 33.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.40 and its 200 day moving average is $16.10. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.83 and a one year high of $23.81.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.07. On average, research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.32 EPS for the current year.

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.