Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Upgraded at Roth Capital

Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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, 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 research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $45.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.75. Verona Pharma has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $51.80. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 37.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 5,691 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is 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.