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

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the four analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on VRCA. Zacks Research raised Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $6.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.17 and a 200-day moving average of $6.57. The stock has a market cap of $103.77 million, a PE ratio of -5.86 and a beta of 1.49. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $3.28 and a 52-week high of $9.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.84 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRCA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 306.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 58,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 44,275 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 29,256 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 139,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 26,308 shares during the last quarter. 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.