Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Director Vikas Sinha Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 74,440 shares in the company, valued at $664,004.80. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.3 %

VRNA opened at $72.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of -37.64 and a beta of 0.16. Verona Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $74.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Eight investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,103,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,996,000 after purchasing an additional 37,872 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by 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.