Verona Pharma price target raised to $57 from $44 at Truist

Truist raised the firm’s price target on Verona Pharma (VRNA) to $57 from $44 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cites the company’s positive Q4 revenue pre-announcement reflecting “strong” Ohtuvayre sales, with over 3.5K unique prescribers writing more than 16K prescriptions since the drug’s launch across broad COPD demographic, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The results bode well for robust penetration into about 4.3M persistently symptomatic COPD patients in the U.S. who may benefit from add-on of Ohtuvayre on top of standard of care, the firm adds.