Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $57.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $44.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised 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. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $45.20 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.33 and a 200-day moving average of $31.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.54 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at $61,202,896.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NEA Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after buying an additional 1,123,166 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its stake 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 valued at $97,356,000 after acquiring an additional 69,601 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,048,000 after acquiring an additional 307,272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.