Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 4.0%, owning approximately 0.28% of the company worth $14.6 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several brokerages have downgraded Verona Pharma's stock rating from "strong-buy" to "hold" while Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on the stock from $90.00 to $100.00.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales, with the CFO selling 400,000 shares for approximately $4.56 million, contributing to a total of around 1.79 million shares sold by insiders over the last 90 days.

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 229,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,520 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.28% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $14,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 25,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth about $721,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of VRNA traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.18. 3,151,452 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,018,423. The firm has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.59 and a beta of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.86. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $18.51 and a 12-month high of $105.50. The company has a quick ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 8.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn 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 value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,278,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,546,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,794,984 shares of company stock worth $18,524,153. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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.