Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) PT Raised to $36.00 at Piper Sandler

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its target price boosted by Piper Sandler from $31.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 127.85% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on VRNA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 1st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.60.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $15.80 on Tuesday. Verona Pharma has a 12 month low of $11.83 and a 12 month high of $23.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 33.33 and a quick ratio of 33.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -22.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.08.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.07. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 50,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 33,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.