Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Stock Position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 103.8%, acquiring an additional 32,346 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 63,508 shares valued at approximately $4 million.
• Verona Pharma reported $0.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.14, with revenue of $103.14 million surpassing expectations of $90.41 million.
• Insider transactions included the CFO selling 208,912 shares at an average price of $13.14, indicating a decline in their ownership of the stock by 1.65%.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 103.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,508 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,346 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.08% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $4,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1,379.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,313 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 126,730 shares of the company's stock worth $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 21,571 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth about $362,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth about $5,438,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $922,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. This trade represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $148,324.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,035.68. This trade represents a 47.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock valued at $17,145,674 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $106.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,154,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,783. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $24.50 and a 12-month high of $106.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.31 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.42.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.