Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.81, but opened at $46.33. Verona Pharma shares last traded at $44.73, with a volume of 395,072 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 10.6 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of -25.81 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.

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 business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th 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. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company's stock worth $97,356,000 after buying an additional 69,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth about $327,000. 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.