David R. Ebsworth Acquires 39,360 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $38.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.86. Verona Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $39.40. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.09 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 8.61.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced 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 company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. 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 Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 3.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. 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.