Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Sells $1,513,147.20 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 162,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.30, for a total value of $1,513,147.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,883,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,819,860.80. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 4.3%

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $80.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.59 and a 200 day moving average of $57.00. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $81.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.10 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,539,000 after buying an additional 73,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,750,000 after acquiring an additional 148,656 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 1.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,491,000 after acquiring an additional 32,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.