Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $61.43 and last traded at $60.90, with a volume of 592499 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VRNA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital upgraded Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of -31.73 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.99.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $64,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,276,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,380,000. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 954,888 shares of company stock worth $4,755,881. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth $195,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.