Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Roth Capital

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Roth Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $45.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.52. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40. Verona Pharma has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $51.80.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released 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 business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % 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 98,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $494,507.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,177,296 shares in the company, valued at $71,028,252.96. This trade represents a 0.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 69,601 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $327,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.