Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Trading Down 8.4%

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price traded down 8.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $24.83 and last traded at $25.20. 183,605 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 886,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.27 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.90. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 0.5% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 8,448 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 71.4% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 28,071 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 504,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,034,000 after buying an additional 86,809 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 3.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 563,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,209,000 after acquiring an additional 195,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.