Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HC Wainwright Analyst Says

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target lifted by analysts at HC Wainwright from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.74% from the stock’s current price.

VRNA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.29.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 5.7 %

VRNA stock opened at $67.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.66. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $69.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 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 transaction of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,120 shares of company stock worth $2,389,065 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Company Profile

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.