Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares dropped 3.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $51.09 and last traded at $51.99. Approximately 338,511 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,768,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.53 and its 200-day moving average is $32.86.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 46,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $205,369.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,298,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,009,164.48. This trade represents a 0.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $64,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,276,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,380,000. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,598,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,578,491. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at about $31,966,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,085,000 after buying an additional 612,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Turn Management LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth about $16,483,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.