Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Gap Up to $15.00

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.00, but opened at $15.55. Verona Pharma shares last traded at $15.65, with a volume of 189,686 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 3.4 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 18.40 and a current ratio of 18.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.08). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 950.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. Finally, Matisse Capital acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.