Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Sold by Octagon Capital Advisors LP

Key Points

• Octagon Capital Advisors LP has reduced its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC by 62% during Q1, selling 354,000 shares and owning 217,264 shares, which now makes up 1.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 274.5% during the same period, now holding 1,041,408 shares valued at approximately $66.1 million.
• Verona Pharma reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.13 EPS for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of a loss, along with revenues of $103.14 million against expectations of $90.41 million.

Octagon Capital Advisors LP lessened its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 62.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 217,264 shares of the company's stock after selling 354,000 shares during the period. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share comprises approximately 1.5% of Octagon Capital Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Octagon Capital Advisors LP owned 0.27% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $13,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 208,912 shares of the company'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 $2,745,103.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,464,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,789,679.52. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,745,103.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,376,144 shares in the company, valued at $175,762,532.16. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 620,584 shares of company stock valued at $8,025,674. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VRNA. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

VRNA traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $106.43. The company had a trading volume of 918,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,555. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1 year low of $27.54 and a 1 year high of $106.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of -107.50 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.68.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $103.14 million during 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 21.12%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.