Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Short Interest Update

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,700,000 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the July 31st total of 8,840,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 50,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 33,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. 1492 Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 166,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the period. CWM LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA stock opened at $27.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.69 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.56. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $28.83.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.