Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.14.

Several research firms have weighed in on VRNA. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note 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 target price for the company. 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, January 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $59.33 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.06. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $62.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $449,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $195,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,630,000 after buying an additional 23,567 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $859,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.