Brokerages Set Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Target Price at $43.83

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.83.

VRNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $41.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.47 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.53 and a 200 day moving average of $27.96. Verona Pharma has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $43.73.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) 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 analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of Verona Pharma 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,177,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,887,560. This trade represents a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,966,000. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,177,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.