Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Insider Kathleen A. Rickard Sells 36,248 Shares

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total transaction of $71,046.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,621,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,138,241.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.69. The company had a trading volume of 507,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,899. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $16.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.14. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.83 and a 12 month high of $23.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -22.74 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 33.33 and a current ratio of 33.33.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.07. On average, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 95.1% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 426,931 shares of the company's stock worth $6,959,000 after buying an additional 208,100 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,467,571 shares of the company's stock worth $72,821,000 after buying an additional 164,268 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,566,000. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 5,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 49.3% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,493,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,645,000 after acquiring an additional 822,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.60.

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.

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