Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 95,000 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,163,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95,000 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 2.68% of Verona Pharma worth $31,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $29,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $29.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.68 and a beta of 0.44. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $30.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.33.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Verona Pharma

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.