HC Wainwright Boosts Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target to $75.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.71% from the company’s current price. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s Q1 2026 earnings at $0.16 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $0.40 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $69.63 on Friday. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $69.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.05 and its 200-day moving average is $41.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of -36.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 477,120 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,065. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the fourth 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 period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.