HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective hoisted by HC Wainwright from $36.00 to $42.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

VRNA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $38.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 8.61, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $39.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.49.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value 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 approximately $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $511,128.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at $61,202,896.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock worth $4,992,952. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 3.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after buying an additional 2,640 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.