Verona Pharma (VRNA) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) is anticipated to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, February 27th. Analysts expect Verona Pharma to post earnings of ($0.23) per share and revenue of $26.72 million for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Verona Pharma Stock Up 5.9 %

VRNA traded up $3.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.96. 2,083,517 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,510,401. Verona Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $11.39 and a fifty-two week high of $68.64. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $52.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRNA. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital raised shares of Verona Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.14.

Insider Transactions at Verona Pharma

In related news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 162,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $815,628.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,204,752 shares in the company, valued at $71,165,807.52. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $64,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,276,000 shares in the company, valued at $71,380,000. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 952,488 shares of company stock worth $4,743,881. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.