4,470 Shares in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at $720,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 14,362 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 4th quarter valued at $362,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 113.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 12,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRNA. Cowen began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.36.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 1.2%

VRNA opened at $91.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.59 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 8.86, a quick ratio of 8.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.23 and its 200-day moving average is $65.92. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1-year low of $15.80 and a 1-year high of $99.01.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. Equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,278,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,190,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,367,915.20. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,965,800 shares of company stock valued at $20,056,881 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% 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.