Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock Price Up 4.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.5% during trading on Wednesday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $100.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Verona Pharma traded as high as $89.90 and last traded at $90.71. 175,847 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,321,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.78.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price target on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $87.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 208,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total transaction of $1,947,133.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,590,168 shares in the company, valued at $126,796,267.44. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of the firm'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 value of $234,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 359,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,737.14. This trade represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,085,800 shares of company stock valued at $10,014,481. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 44.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 2.7%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.18 and a beta of 0.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.