Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Trading 3.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares rose 3.7% during trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $31.00 to $36.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $16.40 and last traded at $16.39. Approximately 149,155 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 493,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.80.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, March 1st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,467,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,821,000 after buying an additional 164,268 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,493,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,645,000 after acquiring an additional 822,832 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,585,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,517,000 after acquiring an additional 142,819 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,377,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,390,000 after acquiring an additional 527,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,981,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 33.33, a quick ratio of 33.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.48 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.08.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.07. Analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.23 EPS for the current year.

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.