Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 32,748 Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 1.8% in Q1, holding 1,866,280 shares valued at $118.49 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on VRNA, with two analysts rating it as a Buy and twelve as a Hold, reflecting caution as price targets range from previous $90.00 to $109.00.
• Verona Pharma reported a quarterly EPS of $0.13, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $103.14 million, significantly higher than the forecasted $90.41 million.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,866,280 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 32,748 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 2.30% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $118,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at about $58,716,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at about $698,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at about $108,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at about $5,549,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at about $638,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the firm'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 $148,324.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $167,035.68. This trade represents a 47.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the firm'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 represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,834,144 shares of company stock valued at $21,004,189. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

VRNA traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.78. 782,269 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,265. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.85 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 has a one year low of $24.50 and a one year high of $105.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.88.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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 research report on Wednesday, June 11th. TD Cowen downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

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.