Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Acquired by Velan Capital Investment Management LP

Key Points

• Velan Capital Investment Management LP increased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 90.0%, bringing its total holdings to 95,000 shares, which now represents about 6.2% of Velan's total portfolio.
• CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of Verona Pharma stock for over $2.74 million, decreasing his ownership by 1.54% to approximately 13.37 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Verona Pharma, with two firms rating it as "Buy" and twelve rating it as "Hold," reflecting caution in the stock's future performance.

Velan Capital Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 90.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share makes up about 6.2% of Velan Capital Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Velan Capital Investment Management LP owned 0.12% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $6,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $150,367,915.20. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $766,535.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,262,182.08. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock worth $17,145,674. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.91. The company had a trading volume of 712,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,150. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of -106.98 and a beta of 0.14. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.78. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $24.50 and a twelve month high of $105.98.

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 for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRNA. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

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.