David Zaccardelli, the President and CEO of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA), recently sold a significant portion of his holdings in the company. According to a recent SEC filing, Zaccardelli sold a total of 141,032 ordinary shares over two transactions on November 1 and November 4. The shares were sold at prices ranging from $4.3763 to $4.3918, amounting to a total value of approximately $618,657.
Following these transactions, Zaccardelli retains ownership of 15,204,752 shares in Verona Pharma. The sales were conducted under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which was adopted on March 8, 2024. Each American Depositary Share (ADS) represents eight ordinary shares of the company, as noted in the filing.
In other recent news, Verona Pharma reported its Q3 financial results, revealing a net loss of $43 million. Despite the loss, the company highlighted the successful launch of its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment, Ohtuvayre, in the U.S. The drug generated net product sales of $5.6 million within the first seven weeks post-launch, with over 5,000 prescriptions filled by October's end. These figures led H.C. Wainwright to maintain a Buy rating on Verona Pharma and raise its price target to $42.00 from $36.00.
The firm also revised its revenue forecast for Verona in 2024 to $22.5 million, up from an earlier projection of $12.5 million, and for 2025 to $126.2 million from $117.3 million. These adjustments reflect the strong sales performance of Ohtuvayre and anticipation of a unique J-code for the drug, J7601, expected to take effect in January 2025.
In addition to these financial developments, Verona Pharma plans to provide detailed revenue guidance in early 2025 and is focusing on increasing interactions with Tier 1 and Tier 2 physicians to improve prescribing behavior. The company remains optimistic about continued sales growth and the drug's broad prescription base.
InvestingPro Insights
Recent data from InvestingPro sheds additional light on Verona Pharma's financial position and market performance, providing context to CEO David Zaccardelli's recent share sales.
Despite the CEO's decision to sell a portion of his holdings, Verona Pharma has demonstrated impressive market performance. According to InvestingPro data, the company has seen a strong return of 149.77% over the past year, with a particularly significant 90.43% return in the last three months. This robust performance has pushed the stock to trade near its 52-week high, with the current price at 97.44% of that peak.
However, investors should note that Verona Pharma is currently trading at a high revenue valuation multiple, which may indicate that the stock is priced optimistically relative to its current revenue generation. This is underscored by the company's market capitalization of $3.1 billion, despite reporting revenue of just $5.62 million in the last twelve months.
An InvestingPro Tip highlights that four analysts have revised their earnings upwards for the upcoming period, suggesting positive expectations for the company's future performance. However, another tip cautions that the company is not expected to be profitable this year, which aligns with the reported operating loss of $151.3 million in the last twelve months.
For investors seeking a more comprehensive analysis, InvestingPro offers 11 additional tips for Verona Pharma, providing a deeper understanding of the company's financial health and market position.
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