Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Here’s Why

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price traded up 5.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $59.74 and last traded at $60.32. 939,785 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 1,542,401 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.72 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.47. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.80 per share, for a total transaction of $188,928.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 4.47 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 954,888 shares of company stock worth $4,755,881 in the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $305,000. First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,483,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $849,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after acquiring an additional 307,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $465,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently 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.