Brokerages Set Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) PT at $43.83

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.83.

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

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $39.84 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.04 and a 200-day moving average of $24.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $40.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,383,544 shares of company stock valued at $6,188,952. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NEA Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,356,000 after purchasing an additional 69,601 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,657,000 after purchasing an additional 228,633 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.