Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRNA has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $160.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $107.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.36.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,190,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,367,915.20. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock valued at $20,056,881. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VRNA traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $91.20. 627,363 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,579. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 8.86 and a quick ratio of 8.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $81.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.09. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12 month low of $15.80 and a 12 month high of $99.01. The stock has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.60 and a beta of 0.24.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. Research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share 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.