Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.83.

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRNA. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $42.68 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $43.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.23 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the company’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 directly owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $64,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,276,000 shares in the company, valued at $71,380,000. The trade was a 0.09 % 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 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $154,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.