Octagon Capital Advisors LP Has $13.79 Million Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

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 reduced its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 62.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 accounts for about 1.5% of Octagon Capital Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Octagon Capital Advisors LP owned about 0.27% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $13,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company's stock worth $219,539,000 after purchasing an additional 73,900 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company's stock worth $118,491,000 after buying an additional 32,748 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth about $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,466,000 after buying an additional 624,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 381.9% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,631,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,552,000 after buying an additional 1,292,575 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $148,324.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,035.68. This represents a 47.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $922,400.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 359,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 620,584 shares of company stock valued at $8,025,674 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 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 Trading Up 0.0%

VRNA stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.43. 918,692 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,180,282. The company has a current ratio of 10.71, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52-week low of $27.54 and a 52-week high of $106.45. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.50 and a beta of 0.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $104.49 and its 200-day moving average is $83.12.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

About Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

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.