Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 245,784 Shares of Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA – Get Free Report) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at $65,721,549.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

  • 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.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of VRNA traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.87. 1,104,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 916,091. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $35.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.29 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,177,000. NEA Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 317,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,925,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRNA. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

Get Our Latest Research Report on VRNA

About Verona Pharma

(Get Free Report)

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.

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