Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells 98,888 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $495,428.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,078,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,543,906.24. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 2nd, David Zaccardelli sold 3,200 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $16,000.00.
• 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 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 transaction 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 transaction of $70.08.
• On Monday, October 21st, David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28.
• 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 1.3 %

VRNA traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $39.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 621,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,193. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $40.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.37 and a beta of 0.46.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NEA Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after acquiring an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its stake in 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 period. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after acquiring an additional 307,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.