Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Upgraded at Roth Capital

Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Roth Mkm began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.20. 1,996,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,714. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $51.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.64. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 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) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,093,808.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $495,428.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,078,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,543,906.24. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. 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 hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. 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.