Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.44.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vikas Sinha sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $178,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 74,440 shares in the company, valued at $664,004.80. This represents a 21.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 34,384 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $308,768.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,660,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,892,690.88. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,085,800 shares of company stock worth $10,014,481. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,568,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 381.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,292,575 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Verona Pharma 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. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at $58,716,000. Finally, Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $37,637,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Verona Pharma stock traded down $0.30 on Tuesday, hitting $92.20. The stock had a trading volume of 754,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,467,339. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $14.14 and a one year high of $93.74. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $70.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.02 and a beta of 0.21.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.47 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 EPS for the current 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.