Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Insider Sells $1,176,000.00 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $39.90 on Thursday. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $40.13. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.78 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.25 and its 200 day moving average is $24.99.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,356,000 after purchasing an additional 69,601 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $327,000. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $250,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.