Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $64.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $39.40 and last traded at $39.35, with a volume of 398136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.15.

VRNA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $619,156.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,672,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,885,812.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $619,156.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,672,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,885,812.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $483,797.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 868,840 shares of company stock valued at $3,805,519 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $169,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.84 and a 200-day moving average of $22.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.