Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $72.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $62.00 and last traded at $62.25, with a volume of 250377 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.33.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on VRNA. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, 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 owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $494,507.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,177,296 shares in the company, valued at $71,028,252.96. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,743,881 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in 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 during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth about $169,000. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 5.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -32.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.79 and its 200-day moving average is $37.32. 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 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.