Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNAGet Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $43.57 and last traded at $43.22, with a volume of 148107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Verona Pharma

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.79. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.70 and a beta of 0.46.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNAGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 14,089,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

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

About Verona Pharma

(Get Free Report)

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.

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