Q1 EPS Estimates for Verona Pharma Raised by HC Wainwright

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) - Investment analysts at HC Wainwright increased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Verona Pharma in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright analyst R. Selvaraju now anticipates that the company will post earnings of ($0.24) per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.40). HC Wainwright has a "Buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Verona Pharma's current full-year earnings is ($1.95) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Verona Pharma's Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.08) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.08 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.16 EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($0.08) EPS.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). 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 business earned ($0.18) earnings per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital raised Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.14.

Verona Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNA traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.08. 874,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,765,608. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.17 and a beta of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average is $33.65. Verona Pharma has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $55.91. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 240,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.90, for a total value of $1,176,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,671,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,090,252. This represents a 8.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 183,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $920,477.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,293,736 shares in the company, valued at $66,601,617.36. This trade represents a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,230,392 shares of company stock worth $5,964,338 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verona Pharma by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,996,000 after purchasing an additional 37,872 shares during the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.