Dorsey Wright & Associates Reduces Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Dorsey Wright & Associates cut its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,671 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,975 shares during the period. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share makes up approximately 1.1% of Dorsey Wright & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Dorsey Wright & Associates owned about 0.09% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $4,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 498,338 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 624,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,485,256 shares of the company's stock worth $68,975,000 after purchasing an additional 51,322 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of VRNA traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,746,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,637,315. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.65 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.86. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a fifty-two week low of $18.51 and a fifty-two week high of $105.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of 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 cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,190,168 shares in the company, valued at $150,367,915.20. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock worth $20,056,881. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

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.