Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 94,144 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $413,292.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,861.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, November 1st, David Zaccardelli sold 46,888 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $205,369.44.
• On Friday, October 25th, David Zaccardelli sold 4,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $21,024.00.
• On Wednesday, October 23rd, David Zaccardelli sold 16 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $70.08.
• On Monday, October 21st, David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28.
• On Friday, October 18th, David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.07 and a 200-day moving average of $22.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 8.61 and a quick ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $39.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $154,000. 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.