Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $74.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $47.67.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 6.8 %

VRNA stock opened at $46.20 on Wednesday. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $51.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total transaction of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 70.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.