Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $77.49, but opened at $79.25. Verona Pharma shares last traded at $80.51, with a volume of 146,786 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRNA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.10 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. On average, analysts forecast that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 32,432 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total value of $309,076.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,046,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,333,716.80. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,165,064 shares of company stock worth $10,676,335 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $720,000. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 stake in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verona Pharma by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Verona Pharma by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 14,362 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.