Wedbush Securities Inc. Takes Position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Key Points

• Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired 3,160 shares of Verona Pharma PLC, valued at approximately $201,000, during the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Several analysts have downgraded the stock rating of Verona Pharma PLC from "strong-buy" to "hold," with an average consensus target price of $109.00.
• Verona Pharma PLC reported an earnings surprise with a $0.27 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates of ($0.22) and generating revenue of $98.65 million, compared to expectations of $41.47 million.

Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth about $37,637,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter worth about $33,019,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,466,000 after acquiring an additional 624,370 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Wolfe Research lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research cut shares of 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 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to 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

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $105.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.46. The company has a quick ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 8.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $18.51 and a twelve month high of $105.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of -52.55 and a beta of 0.24.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. Research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $922,400.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 quarter, insiders have sold 1,794,984 shares of company stock valued at $18,524,153. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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