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

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) released its earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share.

Verona Pharma Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded down $0.99 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.40. 194,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 919,693. The company has a current ratio of 8.61, a quick ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $39.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.99 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.07 and its 200-day moving average is $22.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 110,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $483,797.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,894,464 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,752.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $511,128.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,202,896.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock valued at $4,992,952 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.