Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $42.00. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.63% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 3.3 %

VRNA opened at $51.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.03 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.98. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $55.42. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,371,768 shares of company stock worth $6,583,565. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.