Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells $12,000.00 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 2,400 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $12,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,202,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,011,760. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, November 4th, David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $205,369.44.
• 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 value of $21,024.00.
• 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 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 transaction 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 transaction of $1,076,533.92.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $35.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.77 and its 200 day moving average is $23.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $40.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VRNA shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on 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, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,966,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,177,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,085,000 after acquiring an additional 612,854 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.