Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli Sells 4,800 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $21,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,591,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,911,803.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• 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 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 Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $33.86 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $35.62. The company has a current ratio of 8.61, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.96 and a 200-day moving average of $21.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.97 and a beta of 0.44.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth $154,000. 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.