Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $74.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $45.20 on Wednesday. Verona Pharma has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $51.80. 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 company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.52.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $495,428.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,078,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,543,906.24. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Turn Management LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth about $16,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,048,000 after acquiring an additional 307,272 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $849,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $859,000. Institutional investors 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.