Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $698,000 Investment in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Key Points

• Tokio Marine Asset Management has invested $698,000 in Verona Pharma PLC by acquiring 10,997 shares during the first quarter.
• Recent insider transactions include Director Lisa Deschamps selling 9,464 shares valued at $124,356, representing a 10.03% ownership decrease.
• Analysts have lowered Verona Pharma's ratings from "strong-buy" to "hold", with a consensus price target around $107.00.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $698,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Advisors Preferred LLC raised its position 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 valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, Director Lisa Deschamps sold 9,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $124,356.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 84,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,115,007.84. This trade represents a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $766,535.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock valued at $24,613,268 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wolfe Research lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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 upped 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. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $105.27 on Friday. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $24.50 and a 1-year high of $105.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54. The business's fifty day moving average price is $99.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of -106.33 and a beta of 0.12.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.41 million. On average, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS 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.

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