Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) gapped down prior to trading on Monday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $34.98, but opened at $33.55. Verona Pharma shares last traded at $34.62, with a volume of 413,033 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $413,292.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,861.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Verona Pharma news, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 48,888 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $214,129.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,374,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,960,397.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 94,144 shares of Verona Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total value of $413,292.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,204,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,861.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,139,544 shares of company stock worth $4,992,952. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Verona Pharma by 74.2% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,092,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,722,000 after buying an additional 1,316,998 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in Verona Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,177,000. NEA Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Verona Pharma by 9.3% during the second quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 5,584,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,756,000 after acquiring an additional 476,190 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 878,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 317,184 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its stake in Verona Pharma by 10.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,314,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,925,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 8.61, a current ratio of 8.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of -19.99 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.49.

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.