Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.83.

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price 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 increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $39.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.78 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.09. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $40.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $511,128.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,973,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,202,896.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,383,544 shares of company stock worth $6,188,952. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.