Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Acquires New Shares in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft has acquired 6,870 shares of Verona Pharma PLC, valued at approximately $422,000, as part of their recent stake increase in the company.
• Insider Kathleen A. Rickard and CEO David Zaccardelli sold significant amounts of company stock, resulting in a 4.32% and 2.94% decrease in their ownership, respectively.
• Wall Street analysts have issued mixed ratings for Verona Pharma, with the consensus rating currently at "Hold" and a target price of $109.00.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRNA. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,637,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,019,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after acquiring an additional 624,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRNA. TD Cowen lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lowered 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 increased their target price on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $922,400.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,190,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,367,915.20. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,794,984 shares of company stock valued at $18,524,153 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

VRNA traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.18. 3,151,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,018,423. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.59 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 8.86, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $18.51 and a 1-year high of $105.50.

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.