39,369 Shares in Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) Bought by Point72 Europe London LLP

Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 39,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,828,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verona Pharma by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,996,000 after acquiring an additional 37,872 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verona Pharma by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Verona Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $305,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its position in Verona Pharma by 3,400.0% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRNA. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Verona Pharma in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Verona Pharma in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Verona Pharma in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verona Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verona Pharma

In other Verona Pharma news, insider Kathleen A. Rickard sold 79,264 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,608,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,784,949.60. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 90,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.98, for a total transaction of $811,432.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,377,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $129,107,040.48. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 365,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,208,741. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA stock traded down $1.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.94. 305,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,292,985. The company's 50 day moving average price is $63.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.93. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.22 and a beta of 0.20. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $75.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a current ratio of 13.03.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $98.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verona Pharma plc will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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.