Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. Purchases Shares of 10,635 Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. has purchased a total of 10,635 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share, valued at approximately $675,000, according to their recent 13F filing.
• Several other institutional investors, such as RTW Investments LP and Lord Abbett & CO. LLC, have also made significant investments in Verona Pharma, contributing to a total of 85.88% ownership by institutional investors.
• Analyst ratings for Verona Pharma have shifted, with TD Cowen and Piper Sandler downgrading their ratings, resulting in a current consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $109.00.

Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth $72,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter worth $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA stock traded up $0.06 on Monday, reaching $105.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,140,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,725,017. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.69 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1 year low of $24.50 and a 1 year high of $105.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a current ratio of 10.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.51.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%. Equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $107.00 target price (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,278,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $766,535.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,220,584 shares of company stock valued at $24,613,268 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Company 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.