HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target upped by HC Wainwright from $85.00 to $90.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on VRNA. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.13.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of VRNA stock opened at $84.10 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.75 and a twelve month high of $84.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.80 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 74,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,004.80. This trade represents a 21.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $234,126.56. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,737.14. The trade was a 6.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,165,064 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,335. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.