Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 4,800 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 4,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $21,024.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,591,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,911,803.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• 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 transaction of $70.08.
• On Monday, October 21st, David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28.
• 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

VRNA stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.86. 775,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 913,695. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $35.62. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -43.97 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.47. 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 (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 71.4% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 28,071 shares during the period. Matisse Capital acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $312,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1,054.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 21,384 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at $412,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 8,448 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.