Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Positive Forecast for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its target price boosted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s FY2026 earnings at $12.56 EPS.

VRNA has been the topic of several other reports. Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.44.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA opened at $90.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.90 and a beta of 0.21. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $92.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.56 and a 200 day moving average of $59.54.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. On average, research analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 74,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,004.80. The trade was a 21.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $234,126.56. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,737.14. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,085,800 shares of company stock worth $10,014,481 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 2.2% during the first quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,539,000 after acquiring an additional 73,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,491,000 after buying an additional 32,748 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,466,000 after acquiring an additional 624,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.