Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Upgraded by Roth Capital to Strong-Buy Rating

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Roth Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on VRNA. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $45.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.64. The stock 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 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $51.80. 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 released its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $75,887,560. This trade represents a 0.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at $61,714,024.80. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $327,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.