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Verona Pharma (VRNA) Skyrockets 20.6% on $10-Billion Merger Deal with Merck

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) is one of the 10 Stocks Going Wild.

Verona Pharma surged by 20.62 percent on Wednesday to end at $104.77 per share following news that it was being acquired by US-based pharmaceutical company Merck for $10 billion.

In a statement, Merck said that it entered into a definitive agreement with Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA), under which the former, through its subsidiary, will acquire the company’s American Depositary Shares at a price of $107 apiece.

“This acquisition of Verona Pharma reflects the commitment we have to delivering innovative treatments to patients and our ability to execute on our science-led and value-driven business development strategy,” said Merck Chairman and CEO Robert Davis.

For his part, Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) President and CEO David Zaccardelli said that the agreement “is the culmination of years of focus and determination by the Verona Pharma team advancing Ohtuvayre, the first novel inhaled mechanism for the maintenance treatment of COPD in two decades.”

A patient in a clinic, taking a medication dose from a nebulizer to treat a respiratory disease.

“Since launching Ohtuvayre in August 2024, we have seen rapid and accelerating uptake in the US. We believe Merck’s commercial footprint and industry-leading clinical capabilities will help accelerate the potential of Ohtuvayre to reach more patients living with COPD. This agreement will enable the strong launch trajectory of this important medicine and provide value to Verona Pharma shareholders,” he noted.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of VRNA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VRNA and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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.

The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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