Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Verona Pharma PLC's American Depositary Shares have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from 14 analysts, with 12 holding and 2 issuing buy ratings.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.13, surpassing estimates and generating revenue of $103.14 million, which exceeded analyst predictions.
• Insiders sold a total of 2,220,584 shares valued at approximately $24.6 million in recent transactions, indicating a 4.80% ownership by company insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRNA shares. Roth Capital 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. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG 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 target (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 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 $766,535.04. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 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 transaction of $2,745,103.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,376,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $175,762,532.16. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,420,584 shares of company stock worth $17,145,674. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $720,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at $284,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 366.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 9,021 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.91. 712,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,439,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54. The company's 50 day moving average is $102.25 and its 200 day moving average is $80.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.98 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a one year low of $24.50 and a one year high of $105.98.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. On average, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

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.