Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a $35.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VRNA. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $14.46 on Thursday. Verona Pharma has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $23.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.13. The company has a current ratio of 18.40, a quick ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.08). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -1.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total transaction of $71,046.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,621,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,138,241.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,467,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,821,000 after acquiring an additional 164,268 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,657,000 after acquiring an additional 228,633 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,377,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,390,000 after purchasing an additional 527,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,981,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.