Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price Up 4.5% - Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $47.24. 215,435 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,811,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VRNA shares. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.32 and a beta of 0.40.

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 analysts' expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 56.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company's stock worth $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 317,184 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at $449,000. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at $723,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 7.6% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,062,456 shares of the company's stock worth $15,363,000 after buying an additional 74,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth about $195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.