Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Stock Holdings Cut by ADAR1 Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• ADAR1 Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 31.3% after selling 9,100 shares, now holding approximately 20,000 shares valued at $1.27 million.
• Other institutional investors have increased their holdings, with Frazier Life Sciences Management boosting its stake by 2.2%, owning over 3.4 million shares worth $219.54 million.
• Analysts have downgraded Verona Pharma's stock from 'strong-buy' to 'hold', with a consensus price target now around $109.00.

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 31.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,100 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $1,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1,379.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 126,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 21,571 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,438,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $106.24. 1,154,250 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,474. 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 price is $103.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.31 and a beta of 0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $24.50 and a twelve month high of $106.27.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $103.14 million during 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 anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen cut 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. Piper Sandler cut 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. Truist Financial cut 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. Finally, Cowen cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $922,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,278,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $139,980,508.80. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock valued at $17,145,674. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.