Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 5,993 Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,180 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,993 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.07% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $3,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 6.9% in the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 25,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 1,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,910,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 528.7% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 9,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 8,211 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.7% in the first quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 96,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,278,992 shares in the company, valued at $139,980,508.80. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on 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. Insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock worth $20,056,881 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

VRNA stock opened at $104.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.42 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 8.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $18.51 and a 12-month high of $104.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.67.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRNA. Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.45.

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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