Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Sold by Fred Alger Management LLC

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 cut its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 46.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRNA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Northern Trust Corp purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth approximately $362,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,438,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 113.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,265 shares of the company's stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 12,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after purchasing an additional 624,370 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNA traded down $0.04 on Monday, reaching $106.40. The stock had a trading volume of 255,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,092. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $27.54 and a 12-month high of $106.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a current ratio of 10.71. The business's 50-day moving average price is $104.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.47 and a beta of 0.14.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,262,182.08. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Edwards sold 10,808 shares of the company'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 $142,017.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 157,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,014.88. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 540,584 shares of company stock valued at $7,103,274 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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.