Kathleen A. Rickard Sells 79,264 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % 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.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock traded down $2.24 on Thursday, hitting $65.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,096,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,835. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $70.40. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.