Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares 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. The stock had previously closed at $44.81.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on VRNA. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target 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, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.67.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $494,507.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,177,296 shares in the company, valued at $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $219,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.32.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current 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.