Insider Selling: Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) General Counsel Sells 9,584 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Andrew Fisher, General Counsel of Verona Pharma PLC, sold 9,584 shares at an average price of $13.14, decreasing his holdings by 2.24% to 417,903 shares valued at approximately $5.49 million.
• Verona Pharma shares have recently seen a 0.1% decline, trading at $105.40, with 861,362 shares changing hands and major institutional investors owning 85.88% of the stock.
• Multiple research analysts have downgraded Verona Pharma from a "strong buy" to a "hold" rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 9,584 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $125,933.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 417,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,491,245.42. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Andrew Fisher also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 16th, Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $922,400.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Down 0.1%

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 2.2% during the first quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,539,000 after purchasing an additional 73,900 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $118,491,000 after purchasing an additional 32,748 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 624,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,292,575 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Truist Financial downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Roth Capital cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BTIG Research 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

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.

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