Baker BROS. Advisors LP Takes Position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Baker BROS. Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC, purchasing 223,843 shares valued at approximately $14.2 million during the first quarter.
• Multiple brokerages have downgraded Verona Pharma PLC's stock rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," with new price targets set between $100 and $107.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting earnings of $0.13 per share against a consensus estimate of a loss.

Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 223,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,212,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP owned 0.28% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1,379.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,313 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 126,730 shares of the company's stock worth $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 21,571 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth about $362,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth about $5,438,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. BTIG Research cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $105.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54. The firm has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.98 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.07. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $24.50 and a 1-year high of $105.98.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the business'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 $148,324.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $167,035.68. The trade was a 47.03% 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 transaction of $2,745,103.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,376,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $175,762,532.16. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock worth $17,145,674 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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