Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $38.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. 999,367 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 752,009 shares.The stock last traded at $14.82 and had previously closed at $14.46.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on VRNA. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.60.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total transaction of $71,046.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,621,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,138,241.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 950.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Finally, Matisse Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the first quarter worth $312,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.14 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.07 and its 200-day moving average is $16.13. The company has a quick ratio of 18.40, a current ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.08). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.