AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 19,561 Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 46.4%, selling 19,561 shares and holding 22,624 shares worth $2.14 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Recent analyst ratings for Verona Pharma PLC have been unfavorable, with several firms downgrading their stock to a "hold" rating and adjusting price targets downwards, reflecting cautious sentiment in the market.
• Insiders have sold a significant amount of stock, with sales exceeding 540,000 shares valued at over $7 million in the past 90 days, indicating potential concern among company leadership.

AMI Asset Management Corp decreased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,624 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,561 shares during the quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp's holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth $284,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 366.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 9,021 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the second quarter worth $1,492,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 31.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,168 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, Director Mahendra Shah sold 3,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $47,409.12. Following the sale, the director owned 93,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,228,222.08. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vikas Sinha sold 4,328 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 transaction of $56,869.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 94,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,631.68. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 540,584 shares of company stock worth $7,103,274. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $106.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of -107.90 and a beta of 0.05. The company's fifty day moving average is $105.84 and its 200 day moving average is $87.11. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52 week low of $28.44 and a 52 week high of $106.85. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. Research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

About Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

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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