Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $44.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.75% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on VRNA. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 1.6 %

VRNA opened at $61.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.24 and a 200 day moving average of $37.50. 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 has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $63.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $116,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,177,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,887,560. This represents a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 952,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,743,881 in the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after buying an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,294,000 after buying an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $31,966,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verona Pharma

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.