TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Invests $31.53 Million in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 496,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,526,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at about $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,637,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,019,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after purchasing an additional 624,370 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRNA. TD Cowen lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 directly owned 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,190,168 shares in the company, valued at $150,367,915.20. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock worth $20,056,881. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $104.78. 4,885,536 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,718,363. The company has a current ratio of 8.86, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $86.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.28. The company has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.39 and a beta of 0.24. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $18.51 and a 12-month high of $104.99.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.