Atika Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share $VRNA

Atika Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,866 shares during the quarter. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share accounts for 1.9% of Atika Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Atika Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $13,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the first quarter worth approximately $284,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,117,000 after acquiring an additional 14,362 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 366.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 208,912 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 value of $2,745,103.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,464,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,789,679.52. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Cunningham sold 10,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $142,017.12. Following the sale, the director owned 79,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,256.64. This trade represents a 11.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,220,584 shares of company stock worth $24,613,268. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued 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. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $105.80 on Thursday. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 52 week low of $24.50 and a 52 week high of $105.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.32. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of -106.87 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a quick ratio of 10.54, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $103.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%. Equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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.