Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Purchased by Duquesne Family Office LLC

Key Points

• Duquesne Family Office LLC has increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 12.9%, now owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $63.6 million, making it the 14th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Several analysts have revised their ratings on Verona Pharma shares, with the consensus rating now at "Hold" and an average target price of approximately $109.00.
• Verona Pharma recently reported earnings surpassing estimates, with an EPS of $0.13 and revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, despite a forecast of negative earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,002,080 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,500 shares during the period. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share comprises about 2.1% of Duquesne Family Office LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Duquesne Family Office LLC owned about 1.24% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $63,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Advisors Preferred LLC lifted 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 worth $94,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth about $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target 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. Roth Capital downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, Director David R. Ebsworth sold 1,904 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $25,018.56. Following the sale, the director owned 880,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,569,756.86. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin Edwards sold 10,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $142,017.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 157,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,014.88. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock valued at $17,145,674. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.31. 2,478,037 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,225,138. The business's 50-day moving average price is $103.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $25.50 and a twelve month high of $106.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.38 and a beta of 0.14.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%.The business had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.41 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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.