Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Short Interest Down 39.2% in July

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,470,000 shares, adeclineof39.2% from the July 15th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. Piper Sandler lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $138.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $105.56 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of -106.63 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a fifty-two week low of $24.50 and a fifty-two week high of $105.85. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.12% and a negative net margin of 36.62%. Analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 9,584 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $125,933.76. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 417,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,491,245.42. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 208,912 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,464,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,789,679.52. This represents a 1.65% 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 valued at $24,613,268. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 44.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the second quarter worth $52,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.