Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $43.57 and last traded at $43.22, with a volume of 148107 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 3.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.57 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.36.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth bought 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,014.40. This represents a 4.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,998 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,966,000. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,177,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 54.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after purchasing an additional 612,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.