Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $74.00 to $93.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $69.80 and last traded at $67.12, with a volume of 2869930 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.52.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,165,807.52. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 58,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $290,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,117,512 shares in the company, valued at $70,587,560. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,120 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,065 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter valued at $31,966,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 3.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.27 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.50 and its 200-day moving average is $40.66. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

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.