Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Down 2.5% – Should You Sell?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s share price dropped 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.64 and last traded at $45.83. Approximately 105,374 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 925,925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 2.4 %

The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.91 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.77. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 over the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,356,000 after purchasing an additional 69,601 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.