Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) is Knott David M Jr's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Knott David M Jr significantly decreased its position in Verona Pharma by 44.8%, reducing its holdings to approximately 88,000 shares, which now account for 2.6% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Verona Pharma, with Price T Rowe Associates boosting its position by 37.3% in the last quarter, bringing its total holdings to 1,833,532 shares.
• Verona Pharma reported earnings of $0.13 per share, surpassing expectations, alongside revenues of $103.14 million during its most recent quarter.

Knott David M Jr decreased its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 44.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,300 shares during the period. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share makes up approximately 2.6% of Knott David M Jr's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Knott David M Jr owned approximately 0.11% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $5,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,833,532 shares of the company's stock worth $85,150,000 after acquiring an additional 498,338 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock worth $68,975,000 after buying an additional 51,322 shares during the period. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 887,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,219,000 after buying an additional 201,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $105.28 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $97.20 and its 200 day moving average is $75.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.34 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $21.56 and a twelve month high of $105.50. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate 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 predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective 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. Cowen lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 financial officer directly owned 12,278,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 2,220,584 shares of company stock valued at $24,613,268 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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