Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Insider Kathleen A. Rickard Sells 58,336 Shares

Key Points

• Kathleen A. Rickard, an insider at Verona Pharma PLC, sold 58,336 shares at an average price of $13.14, totaling approximately $766,535, which reduced her ownership by 2.19%.
• Verona Pharma's stock price recently traded down 0.1% to $105.40, with a market cap of $8.97 billion and significant institutional investor interest accounting for 85.88% of ownership.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded the stock's rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," with an average target price of $109.00 reflecting cautious sentiment in the market.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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 sale, the insider owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.28. 610,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,298,595. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.34 and a beta of 0.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $97.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.53. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 12-month low of $21.56 and a 12-month high of $105.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 10.71 and a quick ratio of 8.73.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $103.14 million during 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,539,000 after buying an additional 73,900 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.8% in the 1st 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 stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the 4th 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. raised its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 381.9% in the 1st 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VRNA. Wolfe 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. Truist Financial lowered 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 Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG Research lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.