Verona Pharma’s (VRNA) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $60.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $42.00. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.24) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.08) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.08 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.16 EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($0.08) EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Down 1.1 %

VRNA opened at $54.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.41 and a 200-day moving average of $33.65. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $55.91. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.17 and a beta of 0.40.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $413,292.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,861.28. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,225,592 shares of company stock valued at $5,943,314 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. NEA Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Verona Pharma by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after buying an additional 476,190 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,215,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,166 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,383,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,356,000 after acquiring an additional 69,601 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 359.6% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 19.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,878,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,048,000 after purchasing an additional 307,272 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.