Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.81, but opened at $46.33. Verona Pharma shares last traded at $44.73, with a volume of 395,072 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.63 and a beta of 0.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $116,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,177,512 shares in the company, valued at $75,887,560. The trade was a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,758,000. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,177,000. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 67.7% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 44,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 39.0% in the second quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 939,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,586,000 after acquiring an additional 263,819 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 56.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 317,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.