Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Now Covered by Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.21% from the company's previous close. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Verona Pharma's FY2025 earnings at $0.11 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.43.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $65.46. 766,895 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,223,641. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of -34.09 and a beta of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.32. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $70.40. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the first quarter valued at about $33,150,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 366.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,486 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 9,021 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,168 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $540,000. 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.