Matisse Capital Cuts Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Matisse Capital has reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 25.4% in the second quarter, selling 3,500 shares and valuing the remaining shares at approximately $974,000.
• Insider transactions included Director Martin Edwards and insider Kathleen A. Rickard selling a total of 69,144 shares for over $908,000, reflecting a decrease in their holdings.
• Analysts have downgraded Verona Pharma's stock rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," with a consensus target price of $109.00 amid mixed performance assessments.

Matisse Capital trimmed its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,294 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Matisse Capital's holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 5.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 44.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.4% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,880 shares of the company's stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin Edwards sold 10,808 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $142,017.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 157,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,014.88. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $766,535.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 540,584 shares of company stock valued at $7,103,274. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $106.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.40. The company has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -108.02 and a beta of 0.05. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a fifty-two week low of $31.09 and a fifty-two week high of $106.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a current ratio of 10.71.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Piper Sandler downgraded 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. Roth Capital lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

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.

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