Atle Fund Management AB Purchases Shares of 34,690 Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Atle Fund Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,202,000. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share accounts for 1.0% of Atle Fund Management AB's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter worth $100,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,964,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,026. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a one year low of $18.51 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a current ratio of 8.86. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.45 and a beta of 0.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $87.55 and its 200-day moving average is $69.85.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,278,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock worth $20,056,881. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of 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 lowered shares of 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, Truist Financial lowered 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

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.