Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $55.91 and last traded at $55.36, with a volume of 712009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.47 and a beta of 0.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,165,807.52. This trade represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $619,156.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,672,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,885,812.80. This trade represents a 1.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,371,752 shares of company stock worth $6,583,495. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.