Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VRCA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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 a consensus target price of $14.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRCA 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $86.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.87 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.24.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,118,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,298,000 after acquiring an additional 479,732 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,878,000. Velan Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $3,919,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $1,210,000. Finally, Kalehua Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,959,000. Hedge funds and other 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.