Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price target (up from $92.00) on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $91.11.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.46 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 8.86 and a quick ratio of 8.73.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.47 million. On average, analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 34,384 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $308,768.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,660,656 shares in the company, valued at $23,892,690.88. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $129,107,040.48. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,965,800 shares of company stock valued at $20,056,881 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,457,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,539,000 after purchasing an additional 73,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% in the fourth 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 1.8% during the first 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 period. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,568,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,667,165 shares of the company's stock worth $77,466,000 after buying an additional 624,370 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share 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.