Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 56.20% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VRNA. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Verona Pharma stock opened at $32.01 on Thursday. Verona Pharma has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $32.88. The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.57 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.86 and its 200 day moving average is $19.65.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.53). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma will post -2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,593,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 8,448 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 71.4% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 28,071 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 504,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,034,000 after acquiring an additional 86,809 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 3.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 74,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the first quarter worth $412,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma 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.