Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target Raised to $110.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $95.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

VRNA has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.44.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNA opened at $92.20 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.26. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $14.14 and a one year high of $93.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.02 and a beta of 0.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,278,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,980,508.80. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,014,158.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at $22,459,883.04. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,885,800 shares of company stock valued at $19,134,481. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 381.9% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,631,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,575 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,716,000. Finally, Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,637,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.