Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.29 and last traded at $47.02, with a volume of 760635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.49 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $116,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,177,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,887,560. This trade represents a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at about $16,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,356,000 after purchasing an additional 69,601 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $250,000. 85.88% of the stock is 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.