Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $36.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s FY2025 earnings at ($1.20) EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

VRNA stock opened at $29.40 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $30.73.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly 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 business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth $4,949,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 33,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, 1492 Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 166,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.