Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Insider Sells $661,854.40 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $61.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.97 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $70.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its position in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

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.