Roth Mkm Initiates Coverage on Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm’s price objective points to a potential upside of 47.19% from the stock’s current price.

VRNA has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 6.8 %

VRNA opened at $46.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.12 and a 200 day moving average of $31.32. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $51.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 in the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after buying an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Verona Pharma by 74.2% in 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 last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth $31,966,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Turn Management LLC purchased a new position in Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $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.