Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price Up 6.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) traded up 6.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $67.73 and last traded at $68.21. 1,372,028 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 1,486,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 5.9 %

The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of -35.40 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.12.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.