Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Trading Up 5.3% - Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) shot up 5.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.74 and last traded at $60.32. 939,785 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 1,542,401 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.2 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.90 and a beta of 0.41.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % 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, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 954,888 shares of company stock valued at $4,755,881. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 2.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 69,601 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,898,065 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,889,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,750,000 after buying an additional 148,656 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company's stock worth $54,048,000 after acquiring an additional 307,272 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Verona Pharma

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.