HC Wainwright Boosts Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target to $42.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective upped by HC Wainwright from $36.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s FY2024 earnings at ($2.16) EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.40) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.40) EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($1.36) EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $38.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.09 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $39.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, 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 sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $154,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.