Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Verona Pharma PLC's American Depositary Shares (NASDAQ:VRNA) reached a new 52-week high of $106.45 on Tuesday, with significant trading volume of 1,217,874 shares.
• Several brokerages have downgraded VRNA's rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," with a consensus price target now set at $109.00.
• The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and had a revenue of $103.14 million compared to analyst forecasts of $90.41 million.

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $106.45 and last traded at $106.37, with a volume of 1217874 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRNA. Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial lowered 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. TD Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Down 0.2%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.79. The stock has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.09 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 10.54.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. Equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth sold 1,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $25,018.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 880,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,569,756.86. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Edwards sold 10,808 shares of the firm'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 $142,017.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 157,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,014.88. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 540,584 shares of company stock valued at $7,103,274. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 48.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 27,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 8,827 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 142.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 18,556 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,378,000. FORA Capital LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 168.9% during the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the company's stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 8,625 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,054,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

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.