Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Verona Pharma Put Options (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 3,994 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 120% compared to the typical volume of 1,816 put options.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $494,507.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,177,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $116,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,177,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,887,560. This represents a 0.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 710,888 shares of company stock worth $3,559,881. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $65.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.17 and a beta of 0.41. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $68.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.14.

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.