Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $38.58 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $39.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 13.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.09 and a beta of 0.42.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released 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 business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David R. Ebsworth purchased 39,360 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.80 per share, with a total value of $188,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 920,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,416,014.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,004,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,721,549.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,998 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,177,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,740,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,085,000 after buying an additional 612,854 shares during the period. First Turn Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,483,000. Finally, NEA Management Company LLC raised its stake in Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,756,000 after acquiring an additional 476,190 shares during the period. 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.