Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli Sells 110,456 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $34.93 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.26. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.36 and a beta of 0.44. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $35.62. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased 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 Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on 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 $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

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.