Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA) Earns Buy Rating from Roth Capital

Roth Capital restated their buy rating on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $116.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $92.00.

VRNA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $94.56.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share Price Performance

Shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share stock traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $94.32. 1,089,012 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,320,773. Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share has a 1 year low of $14.14 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.16 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.09. The company has a quick ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 8.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 114,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.82, for a total transaction of $1,014,158.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,546,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,459,883.04. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $811,432.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,107,040.48. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,965,800 shares of company stock worth $20,056,881 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNA. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,568,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 381.9% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,631,000 shares of the company's stock worth $103,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,575 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company's stock worth $140,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,609 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the first quarter worth approximately $58,716,000. Finally, Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share during the fourth quarter worth $37,637,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verona Pharma PLC American Depositary Share

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.