Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli Sells 162,800 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Wednesday, December 4th, David Zaccardelli sold 67,608 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $338,040.00.
• On Monday, December 2nd, David Zaccardelli sold 3,200 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $16,000.00.
• On Friday, November 29th, David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $495,428.88.
• On Wednesday, November 27th, David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value 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 value 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 transaction 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 value 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 value 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 transaction of $483,797.28.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.2 %

VRNA stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.50. The company had a trading volume of 626,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,445. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $40.76. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.18.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,966,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,177,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after buying an additional 612,854 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six 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 $43.83.

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.