Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $38.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its target price lifted by Truist Financial from $32.00 to $38.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on VRNA. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $35.60.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $23.07. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 18.40 and a current ratio of 18.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.13.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 36,248 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.96, for a total value 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 $5,138,241.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 426,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,959,000 after buying an additional 208,100 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.2% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 139,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 22,529 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $4,566,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 3.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,467,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,821,000 after acquiring an additional 164,268 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 5,032 shares during the period. 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.