Affinity Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Affinity Asset Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 6.8%, now owning approximately 615,000 shares, valued at $39 million.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed outlooks for Verona Pharma, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising the target price to $100, while BTIG and Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to a "hold" rating.
• Insider trading activity has seen substantial sell-offs, including a sale of 400,000 shares by CFO Mark W. Hahn for approximately $4.56 million.

Affinity Asset Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 615,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,000 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share accounts for about 3.7% of Affinity Asset Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.76% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $39,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter worth about $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the firm'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 approximately $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value 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. This represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,420,584 shares of company stock worth $17,145,674 over the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 0.0%

VRNA stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.91. 712,567 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,439,097. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of -106.98 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 $105.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.25 and a 200-day moving average of $80.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a current ratio of 10.71.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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%. Analysts predict 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 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.