Truist Financial Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Truist Financial in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $57.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $44.00. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.16% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded down $1.31 on Wednesday, hitting $48.24. 367,179 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,820,135. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $51.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of -25.13 and a beta of 0.40. 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’s 50-day moving average is $40.64 and its 200 day moving average is $31.11.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,714,024.80. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. 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. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,065 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after buying an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth about $31,966,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after acquiring an additional 612,854 shares during the period. Finally, First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,483,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.