Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $74.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 60.17% from the company’s current price.

VRNA has been the subject of several other reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.67.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $46.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.40. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $51.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 5,691 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 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.