Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.83.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NEA Management Company LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,756,000 after purchasing an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,294,000 after buying an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its holdings 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 boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.66. 843,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 935,976. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.23 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $36.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $43.73.

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 business had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

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.