Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 110,456 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

David Zaccardelli also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 18th, David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,104,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,091. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $35.62. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.29 and a beta of 0.44.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $11,177,000. NEA Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after acquiring an additional 476,190 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 56.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 317,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,925,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.