Verona Pharma (VRNA) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) is expected to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, February 27th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of ($0.23) per share and revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter. Persons interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNA opened at $62.39 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.49 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $68.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 98,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $494,507.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,177,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,028,252.96. This represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 98,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $495,428.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,078,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,543,906.24. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 674,712 shares of company stock valued at $3,379,001 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRNA. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.14.

Verona Pharma Company Profile

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.