Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Roth Mkm

Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $45.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.40. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $41.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.52. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $51.80.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 183,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $920,477.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

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

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.