Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital set a $17.00 target price on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRCA stock opened at $7.03 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.77 and a 200 day moving average of $5.97. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $3.28 and a 1 year high of $9.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 1.45.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.14) by $1.27. The firm had revenue of $14.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.34 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David Zawitz purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.24 per share, for a total transaction of $42,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 21,000 shares in the company, valued at $89,040. This represents a 90.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul B. Manning acquired 2,750,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.24 per share, with a total value of $11,663,230.88. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,348,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,197,097.28. This represents a 460.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 4,236,346 shares of company stock valued at $17,962,107. Corporate insiders own 54.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verrica Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 8,881,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,708,000 after buying an additional 313,944 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $1,210,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $99,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 347.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 143,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 111,678 shares in the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.