Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Trading Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price was down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $44.73 and last traded at $44.90. Approximately 83,366 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 1,145,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.55 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $64,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,276,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,380,000. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Turn Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after acquiring an additional 307,272 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $849,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $465,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $859,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Company Profile

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.