Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Roth Capital

Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $45.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $51.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

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 the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,758,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after buying an additional 317,184 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $449,000. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $723,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 7.6% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,062,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,363,000 after acquiring an additional 74,700 shares during the last quarter. 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.