Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.78 and last traded at $52.60, with a volume of 182175 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.57.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 5.9 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.68 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

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