Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.78 and last traded at $52.60, with a volume of 182175 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright increased 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. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. 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, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 3.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.74.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 920,003 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,014.40. The trade was a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,598,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,578,491. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NEA Management Company LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company's stock worth $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company's stock worth $121,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,166 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its stake in 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 valued at $97,356,000 after buying an additional 69,601 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company's stock worth $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares during 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.