Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 162,800 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, December 4th, David Zaccardelli sold 67,608 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $338,040.00.
• On Monday, December 2nd, David Zaccardelli sold 3,200 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $16,000.00.
• On Friday, November 29th, David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $495,428.88.
• On Wednesday, November 27th, David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $116,200.00.
• On Monday, November 11th, David Zaccardelli sold 2,400 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $12,000.00.
• 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 value of $413,292.16.
• 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 stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction of $483,797.28.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $40.50 on Monday. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $40.76. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.37.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. NEA Management Company LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,356,000 after acquiring an additional 69,601 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 307,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.