Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $72.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $44.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.13% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital upgraded Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of VRNA traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,881,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,403,909. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.44 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $65.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $495,428.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,078,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,543,906.24. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 952,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,743,881 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company's stock worth $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company's stock worth $97,356,000 after acquiring an additional 69,601 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company's stock worth $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company's stock worth $87,750,000 after acquiring an additional 148,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

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.