Fred Alger Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 46.5%, now owning 15,489 shares valued at approximately $983,000.
• Insider transactions include CEO David Zaccardelli selling 208,912 shares for over $2.7 million, while Director David R. Ebsworth sold 1,904 shares.
• Verona Pharma reported an earnings per share of $0.13, exceeding estimates and achieving revenues of $103.14 million for the quarter.

Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 46.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,489 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,456 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $362,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $5,438,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 113.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 12,362 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $77,466,000 after buying an additional 624,370 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $106.43. The stock had a trading volume of 918,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,697. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a one year low of $27.54 and a one year high of $106.45. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.50 and a beta of 0.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $104.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.43.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $103.14 million during 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 expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG 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. Piper Sandler 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,376,144 shares in the company, valued at $175,762,532.16. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $148,324.32. Following the sale, the director owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,035.68. This represents a 47.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 620,584 shares of company stock valued at $8,025,674 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

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.