Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $65.50 and last traded at $64.19, with a volume of 3280 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VRNA shares. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.43 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 23,240 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $116,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,177,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,887,560. This represents a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 952,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,743,881 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. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in 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 during the period. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. 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.