Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Stock

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) had its price objective raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s FY2025 earnings at $0.14 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $12.56 EPS.

VRNA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Capital set a $83.00 price objective on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen started coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.44.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of VRNA opened at $92.20 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.08 and its 200 day moving average is $60.26. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $14.14 and a fifty-two week high of $93.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of -48.02 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.47 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, General Counsel Andrew Fisher sold 26,072 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $234,126.56. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 359,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,232,737.14. The trade was a 6.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the business’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 value of $811,432.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,885,800 shares of company stock worth $19,134,481. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,025,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,609 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,866,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,491,000 after acquiring an additional 32,748 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at $84,568,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 59.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.