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

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRCA stock opened at $5.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.87 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.22. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $3.28 and a 1 year high of $9.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.02 million during 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, analysts anticipate that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRCA. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 22.6% during 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 last quarter. Man Group plc bought a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, Beck Mack & Oliver LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,000. 42.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verrica Pharmaceuticals

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.