Analysts Set Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target at $82.13

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.44.

VRNA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 34,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $308,768.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,660,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,892,690.88. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $811,432.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,377,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,107,040.48. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,085,800 shares of company stock valued at $10,014,481. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $92.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.18 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.90. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $14.14 and a fifty-two week high of $93.74.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. Research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 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.