Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $4.15 Million in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC, purchasing 65,375 shares valued at approximately $4.15 million.
• Verona Pharma's stock saw significant insider trading, with CFO Mark W. Hahn selling 400,000 shares for $4.56 million, reducing his ownership by 3.15%.
• The stock's current market cap is $8.69 billion, with a recent earnings report showing a better-than-expected revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter.

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 65,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,151,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP owned about 0.08% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 4.1% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.5% during the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 25,731 shares of the company's stock worth $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $766,535.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $148,324.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $167,035.68. This represents a 47.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,420,584 shares of company stock valued at $17,145,674 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,478,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,138. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of -107.38 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12 month low of $25.50 and a 12 month high of $106.44.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations 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, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen downgraded 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. Truist Financial downgraded 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. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

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.