Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC shares by 32.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.37% of the company valued at $18.9 million after selling 142,558 shares.
• Insider transactions at Verona Pharma included Director Lisa Deschamps and insider Kathleen A. Rickard selling a combined total of 67,800 shares, reflecting decreases in their holdings.
• Verona Pharma reported a positive EPS of $0.13 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has a market cap of $9.01 billion with a consensus rating of "Hold."

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 32.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 142,558 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.37% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $18,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,150,000 after buying an additional 498,338 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% during the 4th 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 period. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,975,000 after buying an additional 51,322 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter valued at $58,716,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, Director Kenneth Cunningham sold 10,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $142,017.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 79,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,048,256.64. This represents a 11.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $766,535.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock worth $24,613,268. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.56. The company had a trading volume of 974,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,599. The company has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.63 and a beta of 0.12. The firm's fifty day moving average is $100.91 and its 200-day moving average is $79.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a current ratio of 10.71. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a fifty-two week low of $24.50 and a fifty-two week high of $105.85.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. On average, analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Roth Capital lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.