Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Takes $941,000 Position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during 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. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $65.46 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.40 and a 200-day moving average of $50.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.09 and a beta of 0.16. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $70.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.43.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.