Temasek Holdings Private Ltd Makes New Investment in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Temasek Holdings has made a new investment in Verona Pharma PLC, acquiring 31,684 shares valued at approximately $2.01 million.
• Company insiders, including general counsel Andrew Fisher and CEO David Zaccardelli, sold a significant number of shares recently, resulting in an 18.18% and 2.94% decrease in their holdings, respectively.
• Analyst ratings for the stock have been predominantly downgraded, with many shifting from "strong-buy" to "hold," reflecting a cautious outlook on Verona Pharma's future performance.

Temasek Holdings Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 31,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,012,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth about $58,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the business'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 sale, the director directly owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,035.68. The trade was a 47.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,420,584 shares of company stock worth $17,145,674 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital 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. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock remained flat at $106.30 during midday trading on Tuesday. 935,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,037. The company has a current ratio of 10.71, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.37 and a beta of 0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52-week low of $26.90 and a 52-week high of $106.44.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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%. Analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current 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.