87,402 Shares in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired 87,402 shares of Verona Pharma PLC, valued at approximately $5,549,000, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Verona Pharma's stock recently experienced a notable performance, trading between a one-year low of $24.50 and a high of $105.85, with a current market cap of $8.98 billion.
• In recent insider transactions, Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares for $766,535 while CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares valued at $4.56 million, reflecting a decrease in their ownership positions.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 87,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,549,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth approximately $638,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth approximately $694,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 4.1% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth approximately $602,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $766,535.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,607,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,262,182.08. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock valued at $24,613,268 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $105.45 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average price is $100.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.64. 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 market cap of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.51 and a beta of 0.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%.The firm had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG Research downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

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.

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