Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $72.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $44.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $62.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.66 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $63.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $116,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,743,881 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. Shilanski & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $305,000. First Turn Management LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $16,483,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $849,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after buying an additional 307,272 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $465,000. 85.88% of the stock is 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.