Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Canaccord Genuity Group

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 142.05% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA stock opened at $14.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 18.40, a quick ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34. Verona Pharma has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $23.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.12.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.08). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -1.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total value of $71,046.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,621,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,138,241.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 950.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $354,000. Finally, Matisse Capital bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at about $312,000. 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.