Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $75.00 at HC Wainwright

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective lifted by HC Wainwright from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of VRNA opened at $69.63 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.27 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.98. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $69.80.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of Verona Pharma 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,601,617.36. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 67,608 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $338,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,007,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,039,080. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 477,120 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,065. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 359.6% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after buying an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,568,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,492,000 after buying an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after buying an additional 1,123,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the third quarter valued at about $31,966,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.