Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.14.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRNA. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $64,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,276,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,380,000. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 954,888 shares of company stock worth $4,755,881. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Shilanski & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,000. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $16,483,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $849,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $465,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.6 %

VRNA stock opened at $59.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.22 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.72. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $60.81.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.