Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Receives $69.14 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.14.

VRNA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA opened at $60.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of -31.40 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.03. Verona Pharma has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $70.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.