Insider Selling: Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Director Sells 1,808 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Christina Ackermann of Verona Pharma PLC sold 1,808 shares at an average price of $13.14, reducing her ownership by 2.74%.
• The company's stock recently received downgrades from multiple brokerages, shifting from "strong-buy" to "hold" ratings, with the average target price now set at $109.00.
• Verona Pharma is focused on developing therapies for respiratory diseases, with its key product candidate ensifentrine currently in Phase 3 clinical trials.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) Director Christina Ackermann sold 1,808 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $23,757.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $841,906.08. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

NASDAQ VRNA traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $105.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 861,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,219,019. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a current ratio of 8.86. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.38. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a fifty-two week low of $19.45 and a fifty-two week high of $105.50. The stock has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of -52.70 and a beta of 0.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRNA. BTIG Research downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 5.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,675 shares of the company's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company's stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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