Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Up 4.5% – Still a Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) rose 4.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $47.24. Approximately 215,435 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,811,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted 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. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 3.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.23 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 249,728 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $1,093,808.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,089,960 shares in the company, valued at $61,714,024.80. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $815,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,833. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $195,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.