Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $106.75 and last traded at $106.73, with a volume of 729263 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRNA shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $107.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note 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 note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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. Finally, Cowen lowered shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of -107.77 and a beta of 0.14.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. The firm had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $2,745,103.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,376,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,762,532.16. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 58,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $766,535.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,607,472 shares in the company, valued at $34,262,182.08. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth $362,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth $882,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter worth $479,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 7,135.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 116,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,405,000 after purchasing an additional 115,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.