Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Sells 400,000 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,278,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,980,508.80. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $92.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.02 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.26. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $14.14 and a 52-week high of $93.74.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.47 million. Analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 44.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.