Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,700,000 shares, a growth of 21.0% from the July 31st total of 8,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.89. 638,750 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 891,415. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 8.61 and a quick ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $28.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.59 and a 200-day moving average of $17.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.34 and a beta of 0.44.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $154,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRNA shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.00.

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.