Wellington Management Group LLP Has $135.33 Million Stock Holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has reduced its stake in Verona Pharma PLC by 29.5%, now holding 2,131,502 shares valued at approximately $135.33 million.
• Insider activity shows significant stock sales, with Kathleen A. Rickard and Andrew Fisher selling a combined 138,336 shares recently.
• Verona Pharma reported earnings of $0.13 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and achieving a revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter.

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,131,502 shares of the company's stock after selling 893,739 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.63% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $135,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 4.1% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 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 transaction of $766,535.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,262,182.08. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $922,400.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at $4,150,788.47. This represents a 18.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,220,584 shares of company stock worth $24,613,268 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $105.80 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $100.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.32. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $24.50 and a 1-year high of $105.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.87 and a beta of 0.12. 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 (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. The firm had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.41 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted 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 research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $107.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital downgraded 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. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

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.

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