Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) CEO David Zaccardelli Sells 208,912 Shares

Key Points

• David Zaccardelli, CEO of Verona Pharma PLC, sold 208,912 shares of stock on August 1st for approximately $2.75 million, reducing his ownership stake by 1.54% to 13,376,144 shares.
• Analysts' ratings for Verona Pharma have been downgraded multiple times recently, with firms like BTIG and Canaccord Genuity switching their ratings from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• The company's stock saw significant trading, reaching a price of $105.40, while institutional investors hold 85.88% of the stock, indicating strong interest from larger financial entities.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,912 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $2,745,103.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,376,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,762,532.16. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

David Zaccardelli also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 11th, David Zaccardelli sold 400,000 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00.
• On Thursday, May 29th, David Zaccardelli sold 208,696 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total transaction of $1,947,133.68.
• On Wednesday, May 28th, David Zaccardelli sold 157,704 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.30, for a total value of $1,466,647.20.
• On Tuesday, May 27th, David Zaccardelli sold 33,600 shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total value of $320,208.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.28. 610,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,298,595. The company has a quick ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 10.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $97.20 and its 200 day moving average is $75.53. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.34 and a beta of 0.12. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1 year low of $21.56 and a 1 year high of $105.50.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $103.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.41 million. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share had a negative net margin of 36.62% and a negative return on equity of 21.12%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,491,000 after buying an additional 32,748 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,466,000 after buying an additional 624,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 381.9% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,631,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,552,000 after buying an additional 1,292,575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $107.00 target price (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.00.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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.