Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.12 EPS

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) announced its earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.17. 137,270 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 919,952. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.58 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a current ratio of 8.61. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $39.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.28 and a 200 day moving average of $22.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 80,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total value of $354,641.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,293,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,749,501.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,139,544 shares of company stock worth $4,992,952 over the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

About Verona Pharma

Verona Pharma plc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases with unmet medical needs. The company's product candidate is ensifentrine, an inhaled and dual inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and PDE4 enzymes that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and cystic fibrosis.