Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Earns "Buy" Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $57.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $44.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 6.8 %

VRNA traded down $3.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,690,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,044. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $51.80. 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 company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.64 and a 200-day moving average of $31.11.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 5,691 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.