Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,720,000 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the May 31st total of 6,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 766,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VRNA. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.13. Verona Pharma has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $23.07.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.08). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at $373,000. Ikarian Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC now owns 375,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,039,000 after buying an additional 7,842 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,657,000 after buying an additional 228,633 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,139,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,331,000 after buying an additional 299,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 987,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,893,000 after buying an additional 41,154 shares during the last quarter. 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.