Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock 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 equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 2.4 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.79. 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 market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.70 and a beta of 0.46.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 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 $511,128.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,202,896.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 5,691 shares in the last quarter. 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.