Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Invests $58.72 Million in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired approximately 924,798 shares of Verona Pharma PLC, valued at about $58.7 million, representing 1.14% of the company's stock.
• Several analysts have downgraded Verona Pharma's stock ratings recently, with a consensus target price now set at $109.00, reflecting a shift from "strong-buy" to "hold" ratings.
• Verona Pharma reported $0.13 earnings per share for the latest quarter, significantly exceeding expectations, with revenues of $103.14 million compared to forecasts of $90.41 million.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 924,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,716,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 1.14% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% during 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 period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company's stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Advisors Preferred LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% in the 1st 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company's stock worth $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,190,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,367,915.20. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,220,584 shares of company stock worth $24,613,268 over the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target (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. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA remained flat at $105.27 on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,101,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,082,334. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12 month low of $24.50 and a 12 month high of $105.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $99.27 and a 200-day moving average of $77.59. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of -106.33 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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 earnings per share 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Company 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.