Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.80 and last traded at $49.55, with a volume of 4240575 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of -25.81 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.64 and a 200-day moving average of $31.11.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 over the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. NEA Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,166 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,356,000 after purchasing an additional 69,601 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after purchasing an additional 307,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.