Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Sells $309,076.96 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 32,432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total value of $309,076.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,046,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $124,333,716.80. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.81. 1,838,843 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,318,074. 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 plc has a twelve month low of $11.79 and a twelve month high of $85.27. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of -44.17 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.49.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,750,000 after purchasing an additional 148,656 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,183 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma 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.