Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 110,456 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Friday, October 18th, David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 0.3 %

Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,104,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,091. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $35.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.29 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.16. The company has a current ratio of 8.61, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued 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 quarter last year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by 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.