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

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.83.

Several equities analysts have commented on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 3.7 %

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $69.63 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.27 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.08. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $69.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 67,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $338,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,007,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,039,080. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 477,120 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,065. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $169,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. now owns 275,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Cahill Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at about $548,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.