Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.14.

A number of research firms recently commented on VRNA. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $60.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.70. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $62.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.39 and a beta of 0.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $116,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,177,512 shares in the company, valued at $75,887,560. The trade was a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 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.