Canaccord Genuity Group Reiterates Buy Rating for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $35.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 126.24% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $15.47. 3,138,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 680,893. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $23.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.09 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 18.40 and a quick ratio of 18.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.13.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.08). On average, analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total transaction of $71,046.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,621,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,138,241.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 950.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Matisse Capital acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $312,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 35.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 5,322 shares during the last quarter. 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.