Piper Sandler Increases Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Price Target to $36.00

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Piper Sandler from $31.00 to $36.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

VRNA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, March 1st. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $33.60.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA stock traded up $0.40 on Tuesday, reaching $16.20. The company had a trading volume of 547,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,377. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -23.48 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 33.33, a current ratio of 33.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.83 and a one year high of $23.81. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.53 and its 200 day moving average is $16.08.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.07. Equities research analysts forecast that Verona Pharma will post -1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Verona Pharma by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in Verona Pharma by 435.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Verona Pharma by 950.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at $143,000. 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.