Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target to $64.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 65.03% from the company’s current price.

VRNA has been the subject of several other reports. 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. Canaccord Genuity Group increased 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.78. 205,387 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 918,436. The company has a current ratio of 8.61, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.33. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $39.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of -25.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $619,156.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,672,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,885,812.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 141,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $619,156.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,672,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,885,812.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 868,840 shares of company stock valued at $3,805,519. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NEA Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 10.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,925,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,657,000 after purchasing an additional 228,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,139,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,331,000 after purchasing an additional 299,299 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.