Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.78 and last traded at $52.60, with a volume of 182175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 5.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.68 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,076,533.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. 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 firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at $66,601,617.36. This trade represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at about $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Verona Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth about $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.