Short Interest in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Rises By 28.7%

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,720,000 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the May 31st total of 6,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 766,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 2,621,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,138,241.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings 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 worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Matisse Capital bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at $312,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 5,322 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,154,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,457. The company has a quick ratio of 18.40, a current ratio of 18.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $23.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.12. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34.

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

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.