Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $55.91 and last traded at $55.36, with a volume of 712009 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial restated 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. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities 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, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.79. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of -28.65 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $413,292.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,861.28. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This trade represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,225,592 shares of company stock valued at $5,943,314. 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 company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management increased its position in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Shilanski & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $305,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.