Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Up 3.4% – Time to Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s share price traded up 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $36.14 and last traded at $36.14. 52,822 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 926,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective 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 raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 80,784 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total value of $354,641.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,749,501.04. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,141,944 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,952 over the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised 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 valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,483,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 35.6% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,139,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,331,000 after buying an additional 299,299 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $859,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $849,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.