Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA Shares Sold by Matisse Capital

Matisse Capital lessened its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Matisse Capital’s holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,021 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,492,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $106.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.40. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $31.09 and a 1-year high of $106.93. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.02 and a beta of 0.05.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The firm 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, analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $107.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen cut shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $107.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin Edwards sold 10,808 shares of the 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 $142,017.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 157,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,076,014.88. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 208,912 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $2,745,103.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,464,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,789,679.52. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 540,584 shares of company stock worth $7,103,274 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.