Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Roth Capital

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

VRNA has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $45.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $51.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.52.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the 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 $815,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth about $1,758,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 317,184 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $449,000. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth approximately $723,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 7.6% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,062,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,363,000 after purchasing an additional 74,700 shares during the period. 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.