Atika Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Atika Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 1.8%, owning 208,134 shares, which makes up 1.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions, with Mirae Asset Global Investments increasing its stake by 366% in Q1.
• Wall Street analysts have generally issued hold ratings for Verona Pharma, with target prices lowered significantly from earlier estimates.

Atika Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 208,134 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,866 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share makes up 1.9% of Atika Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Atika Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $13,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at about $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRNA. Roth Capital cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wolfe Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin Edwards sold 10,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $142,017.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 157,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,076,014.88. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth sold 1,904 shares of the 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 $25,018.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 880,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,569,756.86. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock worth $24,613,268 over the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

VRNA traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $105.56. 974,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,763,599. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.91 and a 200-day moving average of $79.07. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of -106.63 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $24.50 and a 12-month high of $105.85.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current 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.