15,146 Shares in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Acquired by Platinum Investment Management Ltd.

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRNA. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 381.9% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,631,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,552,000 after buying an additional 1,292,575 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth approximately $58,716,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 274.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,041,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,119,000 after buying an additional 763,353 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth approximately $33,150,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth approximately $31,526,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $107.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $107.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cowen cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael Austwick sold 11,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $148,324.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $167,035.68. This represents a 47.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $175,762,532.16. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 540,584 shares of company stock valued at $7,103,274. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Up 0.1%

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $106.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of -107.90 and a beta of 0.05. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a twelve month low of $28.44 and a twelve month high of $106.85. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.84 and a 200-day moving average of $87.11.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released 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 company 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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.