Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $32.04 and last traded at $31.70, with a volume of 119814 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRNA. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.33.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of -41.57 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.68. 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 Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NEA Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after purchasing an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,925,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after buying an additional 1,316,998 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,657,000 after buying an additional 228,633 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 8,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.