Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn Sells 80,784 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 80,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $354,641.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,749,501.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 0.6 %

Verona Pharma stock opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.49.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,177,000. NEA Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after purchasing an additional 476,190 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,697,000 after buying an additional 317,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,925,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

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.