Canaccord Genuity Group Issues Positive Forecast for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $37.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.05% from the company’s current price.

VRNA has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $37.59 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $39.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.59. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -19.58 and a beta of 0.42.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 46,888 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $205,369.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,298,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,009,164.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 46,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $205,369.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,298,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,009,164.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $511,128.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,202,896.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd 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. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after buying an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.