HC Wainwright Boosts Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target to $36.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its target price upped by HC Wainwright from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on VRNA. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA opened at $14.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 18.40 and a current ratio of 18.40. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $23.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.08). On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -1.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total transaction of $71,046.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,621,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,138,241.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 950.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $226,000. Matisse Capital purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at $312,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 35.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,322 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.