Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn Sells 58,184 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 58,184 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $290,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,117,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,587,560. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.48 on Friday, reaching $40.50. The company had a trading volume of 626,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46. Verona Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $40.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.74 and a 200-day moving average of $26.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business 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) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. CWM LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 101.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 68,264 shares in the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,012,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment 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 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.