Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Receives $74.67 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.43.

VRNA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA opened at $65.46 on Monday. 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 cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.09 and a beta of 0.16. Verona Pharma has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $70.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.40 and a 200-day moving average of $50.55.

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.