160,000 Shares in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Purchased by Cutter Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Cutter Capital Management LP acquired 160,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC, valued at approximately $10.16 million, which makes it the 13th largest position in their portfolio.
• Recent insider transactions included Kathleen A. Rickard selling 58,336 shares, resulting in a 2.19% decrease in her ownership, while Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares, reducing his ownership by 47.03%.
• Analysts have adjusted their ratings for VRNA, with several firms downgrading their recommendations from "strong-buy" to "hold," and the average price target has been set at $109.00.

Cutter Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 160,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,158,000. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share accounts for 4.4% of Cutter Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cutter Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.20% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth sold 1,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $25,018.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 880,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,569,756.86. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $766,535.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock valued at $17,145,674. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VRNA traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,478,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,138. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1 year low of $25.50 and a 1 year high of $106.44. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of -107.38 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54. The stock's 50 day moving average is $103.31 and its 200 day moving average is $82.12.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. The business had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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.