Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $65.50 and last traded at $64.19, with a volume of 3280 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.43 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.61 and its 200 day moving average is $38.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,966,000. 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.