Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,434 Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

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

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $105.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,640,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,544,692. The stock has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.50 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 8.86 and a quick ratio of 8.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $90.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.30. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52-week low of $18.51 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. Research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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 value of $922,400.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,278,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $139,980,508.80. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock worth $20,056,881 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRNA. TD Cowen cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

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.