Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Director Sells $56,869.92 in Stock

Key Points

• Vikas Sinha, a director at Verona Pharma PLC, sold 4,328 shares of the company for approximately $56,870, reducing his ownership by 4.40% to 94,112 shares.
• Shares of Verona Pharma PLC saw a slight decline of 0.1%, trading at $105.40, with a market cap of $8.97 billion and a PE ratio of -52.70.
• Recent analyst ratings reflect a shift with several firms downgrading Verona Pharma's stock, resulting in a consensus "Hold" rating and an average target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) Director Vikas Sinha sold 4,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $56,869.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 94,112 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,631.68. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.28. The company had a trading volume of 610,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,298,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a current ratio of 10.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of -106.34 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $21.56 and a 1-year high of $105.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $97.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.53.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRNA. Wolfe Research 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. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Roth Capital downgraded Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.