Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) is Vivo Capital LLC's 2nd Largest Position

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 lessened its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 37.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,438,785 shares of the company's stock after selling 845,190 shares during the period. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share makes up approximately 12.1% of Vivo Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Vivo Capital LLC owned 1.77% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $91,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth $720,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth about $284,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 14,362 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 366.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 9,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the general counsel 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock valued at $24,613,268. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRNA shares. Cowen lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

VRNA opened at $105.40 on Friday. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $19.75 and a twelve month high of $105.50. The stock has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of -106.46 and a beta of 0.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $96.71 and its 200-day moving average is $75.18. The company has a current ratio of 8.86, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 23.69%. On average, analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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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