Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.57.

Several research firms have recently commented on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $849,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $465,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $50.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.21. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $51.80.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -1.99 EPS 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.