Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO Sells $4,560,000.00 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,190,168 shares in the company, valued at $150,367,915.20. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, May 29th, David Zaccardelli sold 208,696 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total value of $1,947,133.68.
• On Wednesday, May 28th, David Zaccardelli sold 157,704 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.30, for a total value of $1,466,647.20.
• On Tuesday, May 27th, David Zaccardelli sold 33,600 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total value of $320,208.00.
• On Tuesday, April 29th, David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $811,432.80.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $92.20 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $14.14 and a 12-month high of $93.74. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of -48.02 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.08 and a 200-day moving average of $60.26. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 44.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRNA shares. Cowen started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.44.

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.