Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Receives $69.14 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.14.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

VRNA stock opened at $63.49 on Thursday. Verona Pharma has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $70.40. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of -33.07 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.73.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Shilanski & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $305,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,048,000 after purchasing an additional 307,272 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.