Armistice Capital LLC Purchases New Shares in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC has made a significant investment in Verona Pharma PLC, acquiring 68,201 shares valued at approximately $4.33 million.
• Verona Pharma reported strong quarterly earnings with a revenue of $103.14 million, surpassing analyst expectations, and an earnings per share of $0.13.
• Recent analyst ratings for Verona Pharma have downgraded the stock from "strong-buy" to "hold", with an average price target of $109.00.

Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 68,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,330,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned about 0.08% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,491,000 after purchasing an additional 32,748 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,466,000 after buying an additional 624,370 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,716,000. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 887,580 shares of the company's stock worth $41,219,000 after purchasing an additional 201,535 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, Director Mahendra Shah sold 3,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $47,409.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 93,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,222.08. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of the business'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 $2,745,103.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,376,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $175,762,532.16. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock worth $17,145,674 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

VRNA stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $106.24. 1,154,250 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,783. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.06 and a 200-day moving average of $81.71.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.41 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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.