Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its target price lifted by Truist Financial from $38.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $32.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 8.61 and a quick ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $32.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of -21.22 and a beta of 0.44.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NEA Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after acquiring an additional 476,190 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,925,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 12.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,031,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,657,000 after purchasing an additional 228,633 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 0.5% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by 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.