We recently published a list of 10 Best Performing Growth Stocks in 2025 In this article, we are going to take a look at where Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) stands against other best performing growth stocks in 2025.
Heavy AI investments and the tariffs uncertainty have been putting pressure on the technology and growth sector. While some analysts are giving caution to stay away from growth and tech stocks Doug Clinton, Intelligent Alpha founder and CEO remains bullish on tech and growth stocks. He joined CNBC on February 12 for an interview. He noted that moving past the DeepSeek incident the sector has stabilized and he remains bullish on the tech sector. Some of the positive news for the sector as highlighted by Clinton includes hyper-scalers showing earnings growth, moreover, CEOs from the AI industry have indicated that the capital expenditure boom will continue.
Clinton further explained that there are levels within the hyperscalers as well in terms of how levered they are to the artificial industry. Companies that have leveraged themselves using artificial intelligence have been experiencing significant growth through developing open-source AI models and by using these technologies to improve their businesses. While answering if tech companies are immune to tariffs, Clinton noted that investors don’t need to have “fire alarms” when it comes to technology companies, mainly hyper-scalers, as these companies are less likely to be overly impacted by the tariffs. This is because these companies are not subject to the import and export issue, which is the main concern regarding tariffs. Clinton explained that he is more interested in the story of technology and growth stocks. Moreover, he is also interested in the developments these tech companies are making with regard to developing their AI products and how the customers are adopting these technologies.
Moreover, while catering to the question regarding the likelihood of a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China, Clinton noted that a trade war is highly unlikely as the current scenario points more toward negotiations. Clinton thinks that the Trump administration is acting as tough negotiators to get some action and the policies will ease down without a trade war.
While talking about the next big theme within the technology sector, Clinton thinks that silicon chips are going to remain a prominent theme for 2025, as it is being used to deliver AI products to customers. Moreover, he also mentioned that an emerging sub-theme is the use of custom silicon, which are optimized chips tailored for specific tasks, offering optimized performance and energy efficiency compared to general-purpose processors.
Our Methodology
To curate the list of 10 best-performing growth stocks in 2025 we used the Finviz stock screener. Using the screener we aggregated a list of growth stocks that have risen more than 30% on a year-to-date basis, sorted by market cap. Next, we ranked these stocks based on the number of hedge fund holders sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database. Please note that the data was recorded on March 11, 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Is Verona Pharma plc (VRNA) the Best Performing Growth Stock in 2025?
A patient in a clinic, taking a medication dose from a nebulizer to treat a respiratory disease.
Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) is a biopharmaceutical company based in the United Kingdom that focuses on creating and commercializing treatments for respiratory diseases. It is working to develop inhaled Ensifentrine for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ensifentrine is a molecule that inhibits phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 and combines bronchodilator and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory activities.
On February 28, Analyst Edward Nash from Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $72. Nash likes the company’s market position and potential for growth. Ohtuvayre, which is one of the leading drugs of the company, had impressive sales in its first full quarter, which exceeded expectations. Moreover, the sales projections for 2025 are expected to increase as a result of this strong performance. The analyst further noted that the drug’s unique mechanism and the large COPD patient population contribute to its success. Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) plans to introduce Ohtuvayre to the EU and UK markets and continue developments in Greater China, which supports the positive outlook. It is one of the best-performing growth stocks in 2025.
Overall, VRNA ranks 3rd on our list of best performing growth stocks in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of VRNA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
