Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn Sells 98,704 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $494,507.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,177,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $39.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.37 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.61. Verona Pharma plc has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $40.76.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.