Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $74.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $51.80 and last traded at $49.55, with a volume of 4240575 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.81.

VRNA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 6.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.