Roth Capital Has Weak Outlook for Verona Pharma Q1 Earnings

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) – Equities researchers at Roth Capital lowered their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Verona Pharma in a report issued on Tuesday, April 29th. Roth Capital analyst B. Pachaiyappan now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.68 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.76. The consensus estimate for Verona Pharma’s current full-year earnings is ($1.95) per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Verona Pharma’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.91 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.02 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS.

VRNA has been the topic of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cowen assumed coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRNA opened at $72.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.88, a current ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.63. Verona Pharma has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $74.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.64 and a beta of 0.16.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In related news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $661,854.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total value of $811,432.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,377,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,107,040.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,080 shares of company stock valued at $2,194,582 in the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verona Pharma

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Verona Pharma during the first quarter valued at $100,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently 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.