Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) fell 3.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $51.09 and last traded at $51.99. 338,511 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,768,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.68 and a beta of 0.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $511,128.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at $61,202,896.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,598,920 shares of company stock worth $7,578,491. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the second 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 shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at $31,966,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after acquiring an additional 612,854 shares during the period. Finally, First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,483,000. 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.