Verona Pharma plc's (NASDAQ:VRNA) Chief Financial Officer, Mark Hahn, recently sold a significant portion of his holdings in the company. The sale comes as the stock trades near its 52-week high of $40.76, having delivered an impressive 227% return over the past six months. According to the latest SEC filings, Hahn executed multiple transactions between November 27 and December 2, 2024, selling a total of 113,240 ordinary shares. These sales were completed at prices ranging from $5.00 to $5.0063 per share, amounting to an aggregate value of approximately $566,821.
Following these transactions, Hahn retains ownership of 14,175,696 ordinary shares. Notably, the reported securities are represented by American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each representing eight ordinary shares of Verona Pharma. The sales were conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which was adopted earlier in the year on March 6, 2024.
In other recent news, Verona Pharma reported strong third-quarter financial results, with $5.6 million in top-line revenue, surpassing Wall Street's highest estimate of $3.5 million. The revenue was entirely generated from sales of Ohtuvayre, the company's sole marketed product. Following these results, H.C. Wainwright maintained a Buy rating on Verona Pharma shares and raised the price target to $42.00 from the previous target of $36.00. The firm also increased its 2024 revenue forecast for Verona to $22.5 million, up from the earlier projection of $12.5 million.
Despite a net loss of $43 million in Q3, Verona Pharma emphasized the successful launch of Ohtuvayre, with net product sales of $5.6 million within the first seven weeks post-launch, and over 5,000 prescriptions filled by the end of October. The company maintains a strong balance sheet, with $336 million in cash and equivalents.
In addition, Verona Pharma has been assigned a unique J-code for Ohtuvayre, J7601, expected to come into effect in January 2025. This development is anticipated to aid in the market uptake of the drug. These recent developments underscore Verona Pharma's robust financial position and promising future outlook.
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