Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 557,532 Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,267,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 557,532 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 1.57% of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share worth $80,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 14.0% during 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 period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 65.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $922,400.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 359,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,150,788.47. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total value of $1,014,158.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,794,984 shares of company stock worth $18,524,153. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock opened at $105.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of -52.59 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.45 and its 200 day moving average is $72.68. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1 year low of $18.51 and a 1 year high of $105.50.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $107.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

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.