Verona Pharma plc (VRNA): Jim Cramer Approves The Merck Acquisition
Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) is a small biotechnology company that focuses on respiratory diseases. Its shares rocketed by 20.6% in July after pharma giant Merck announced that it would buy the firm for a $10 billion price tag. However, even before the acquisition, Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)'s shares were up by a strong 80%. The stock has been helped by improving revenue and shrinking losses, which are good performance indicators for upstart biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Cramer's comments about Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) covered Merck's acquisition:
'Yeah, I talked to Rob this morning, really liked this. He thinks he's got about 50 billion dollars worth of new drugs, which would therefore make it so you should stop worrying about the Keytruda patent expiration in 2028. I am with Rob. I think this COPD is a really important, another important franchise for them the alternative use steroids. And we've all be discovering that if you have trouble using steroids, one it becomes less effective over time, and two, the side effects are much worse than people realize. So I think this is a first in class, novel, compound that will make it so. . .I like this acquisition very much.'
A patient in a clinic, taking a medication dose from a nebulizer to treat a respiratory disease.
Earlier, the CNBC host had dubbed Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)'s shares as speculative:
'That stock is a rocket ship. Again, very very speculative, because it loses a lot of money. Does have a couple things in the pipe that people like, but also has a huge amount of insider selling, frankly.'
While we acknowledge the potential of VRNA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the .
READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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