Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price Up 4.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) were up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $47.24. Approximately 215,435 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,811,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target 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. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.22 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 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 value of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 over the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,966,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,085,000 after acquiring an additional 612,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,483,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.