David R. Ebsworth Acquires 39,360 Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.0 %

VRNA stock opened at $38.58 on Friday. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $39.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 8.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.86.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released 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 company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth $11,177,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 612,854 shares during the last quarter. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $16,483,000. Finally, NEA Management Company LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently 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.