Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Bought by Boothbay Fund Management LLC

Key Points

• Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 9.7% during the first quarter, holding a total of 473,929 shares, which represents approximately 0.8% of its holdings.
• Insider trading activity included CFO Mark W. Hahn selling 208,912 shares at an average price of $13.14, leading to a 1.65% decrease in his holdings.
• Verona Pharma recently reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of a loss, alongside a total revenue of $103.14 million.

Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,929 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,759 shares during the period. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share comprises 0.8% of Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned 0.58% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $30,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Allostery Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth approximately $794,000. Ally Bridge Group NY LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,829,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 381.9% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,631,000 shares of the company's stock worth $103,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,575 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 73,900 shares during the period. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of 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. 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 report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 359,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. This trade represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $766,535.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,607,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,262,182.08. The trade was a 2.19% 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $106.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,478,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,138. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.38 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 10.71, a quick ratio of 10.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $103.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52 week low of $25.50 and a 52 week high of $106.44.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current 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.