Point72 Europe London LLP Invests $1.83 Million in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA)

Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 39,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,828,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRNA. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings 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. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verona Pharma Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VRNA traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.58. 869,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,292,688. Verona Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $74.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.53. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.80 and a beta of 0.20.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $98.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verona Pharma news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $811,432.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares in the company, valued at $129,107,040.48. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total value of $661,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at $21,784,949.60. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Roth Capital set a $83.00 target price on Verona Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Verona Pharma from $44.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.