GSA Capital Partners LLP Sells 32,846 Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP has reduced its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 61.5%, owning 20,526 shares after selling 32,846 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have downgraded Verona Pharma's shares from "strong-buy" to "hold," with a new consensus price target of $109.00 following several ratings changes.
• CEO David Zaccardelli and CFO Mark W. Hahn both sold 400,000 shares at an average price of $11.40, resulting in a significant decrease in their ownership stakes.

GSA Capital Partners LLP decreased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 61.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,526 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,846 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,637,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth about $33,019,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after buying an additional 624,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,546,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,459,883.04. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,794,984 shares of company stock worth $18,524,153 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,151,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,018,423. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.31. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a fifty-two week low of $18.51 and a fifty-two week high of $105.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a current ratio of 8.86.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.