Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Sells $494,507.04 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $494,507.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,177,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded down $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $39.11. 621,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,193. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of -20.37 and a beta of 0.46. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $40.76.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 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, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. CWM LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd 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, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $169,000. 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.