Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.50.

VRCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRCA opened at $6.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $103.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.86 and a beta of 1.49. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $3.28 and a 1-year high of $9.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 22.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 5,960 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $122,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,118,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,298,000 after acquiring an additional 479,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.