Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Purchased by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 528.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,764 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,211 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth $720,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,117,000 after buying an additional 14,362 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth $362,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 12,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Up 1.2%

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 436,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,478. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52-week low of $15.56 and a 52-week high of $99.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.59 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 8.86 and a quick ratio of 8.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.74.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $107.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $922,400.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. This represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,278,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock valued at $20,056,881. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.