Wells Fargo & Company Raises Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target to $64.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

VRNA has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 research report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $38.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.86. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of -20.09 and a beta of 0.42. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $39.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,014.40. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total value of $413,292.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,861.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth acquired 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares during the period. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at $16,483,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $209,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $849,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at $465,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.