Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sees Large Volume Increase - Time to Buy?

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 4,184,275 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 147% from the previous session's volume of 1,695,022 shares.The stock last traded at $104.81 and had previously closed at $104.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRNA has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Capital lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $107.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a current ratio of 8.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $87.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.85.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at $22,459,883.04. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $922,400.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 359,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. This represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock valued at $20,056,881. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 44.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.