Vivo Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Key Points

• Vivo Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 37% during the first quarter, making it the firm's second-largest position at 12.1% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors acquired shares of Verona Pharma, with Mirae Asset Global Investments increasing its holdings by 366% in the first quarter.
• Financial analysts downgraded Verona Pharma's stock from "buy" to "hold," with a consensus price target of $109.00, following updated earnings which beat expectations.

Vivo Capital LLC trimmed its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 37.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,438,785 shares of the company's stock after selling 845,190 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share makes up approximately 12.1% of Vivo Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Vivo Capital LLC owned 1.77% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $91,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth $720,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth $284,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,126 shares of the company's stock worth $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 14,362 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 366.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 9,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the firm'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 $766,535.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $922,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock worth $24,613,268. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Down 0.0%

VRNA stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.21. 1,339,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,301,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of -106.27 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 10.71, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $23.79 and a 1-year high of $105.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.18.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. The firm had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Roth Capital downgraded 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 downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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, BTIG Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

About Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

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.