Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on VRCA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $5.02 on Friday. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $3.28 and a 52-week high of $9.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.24 million, a PE ratio of -4.87 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.24.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.18. Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 47.97% and a negative return on equity of 1,077.78%. The business had revenue of $5.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 million. On average, analysts expect that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.84 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRCA. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 22.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC raised its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,118,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,298,000 after purchasing an additional 479,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.45% of the company’s stock.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical?stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of topical therapies for dermatological conditions. Its lead investigational product, VP-102, is a standardized formulation of cantharidin in a pre-measured applicator designed to treat molluscum contagiosum and common warts. Verrica’s approach emphasizes consistency of dosing and patient convenience, aiming to improve upon off?label use of existing treatments.

Beyond VP-102, Verrica is advancing VP-103, a next?generation topical candidate intended to optimize tolerability while maintaining efficacy against viral skin lesions.