Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Short Interest Update

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,720,000 shares, a growth of 28.7% from the May 31st total of 6,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 766,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.98 on Friday, hitting $14.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,154,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,457. The company has a quick ratio of 18.40, a current ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.12. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $23.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.08). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total value of $71,046.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,621,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,138,241.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 950.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $354,000. Finally, Matisse Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.