Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $94.45 and last traded at $92.70, with a volume of 974351 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.44.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of -48.28 and a beta of 0.21. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.55.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.47 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verona Pharma news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 74,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $664,004.80. This trade represents a 21.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $811,432.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,377,176 shares in the company, valued at $129,107,040.48. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,885,800 shares of company stock worth $19,134,481 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,539,000 after purchasing an additional 73,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,491,000 after purchasing an additional 32,748 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $84,568,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,466,000 after purchasing an additional 624,370 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.