Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Trading Up 4.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares were up 4.5% during trading on Wednesday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $100.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $89.90 and last traded at $90.71. Approximately 175,847 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,321,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.78.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VRNA. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.44.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 204,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total transaction of $1,911,381.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,678,992 shares in the company, valued at $118,294,995.36. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total value of $1,947,133.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,590,168 shares in the company, valued at $126,796,267.44. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,085,800 shares of company stock valued at $10,014,481. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.18 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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.