Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 1,237,654 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 869,169 shares.The stock last traded at $26.63 and had previously closed at $24.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.52 and a beta of 0.44.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 8,448 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Verona Pharma by 71.4% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 28,071 shares during the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 504,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,034,000 after purchasing an additional 86,809 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 563,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,209,000 after buying an additional 195,495 shares during the period. 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.