Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells $205,369.44 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 46,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $205,369.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,298,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,009,164.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, November 4th, David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $413,292.16.
• 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 transaction of $21,024.00.
• On Wednesday, October 23rd, David Zaccardelli sold 16 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were 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 value of $1,076,533.92.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $38.18 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $39.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.28 and its 200-day moving average is $22.59. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1,054.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 21,384 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the first quarter valued at $412,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 255,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,113,000 after buying an additional 6,645 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

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.