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

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $44.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.36% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Verona Pharma stock opened at $59.33 on Wednesday. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $62.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.32. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -30.90 and a beta of 0.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,966,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,483,000. 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.