Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $42.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target raised by HC Wainwright from $36.00 to $42.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s FY2024 earnings at ($2.16) EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.40) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.40) EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($1.36) EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $38.18 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.59. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $39.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.89 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,014.40. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,014.40. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1,054.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 21,384 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter worth about $412,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 255,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,113,000 after acquiring an additional 6,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CM Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the first quarter worth approximately $563,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.