Verona Pharma (VRNA) stock soared on Wednesday after the biopharmaceutical company announced a deal with Merck (MRK). This will have Merck acquire Verona Pharma for $107 per share, a 23.18% premium to the stock’s prior closing price. It also brings the total value of the deal to $10 billion.
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Merck’s interest in Verona Pharma is largely tied to Ohtuvayre, a prescription medication for the maintenance treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in adults. This will add the drug to its growing cardiopulmonary pipeline and portfolio. Merck also benefits by acquiring a drug that has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Verona Pharma CEO David Zaccardelli said the deal will “accelerate the potential of Ohtuvayre.”
The Verona Pharma acquisition has received unanimous support from the Boards of Directors at both companies. Now it just needs approval from regulators and shareholders to close. The two companies expect the deal to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Verona Pharma Stock Movement Today
Verona Pharma stock was up 20.77% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, following a 4.76% dip yesterday. The shares have increased 87.04% year-to-date and 384.44% over the past 12 months. News of the Merck deal brought heavy trading to VRNA stock today, with some 2.9 million shares traded, compared to a three-month daily average of roughly 1.23 million units.
Is Verona Pharma Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Verona Pharma is Strong Buy, based on 11 Buy ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average VRNA stock price target of $118, representing a potential 35.85% upside for the shares.
