Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.00.

VRCA has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. upgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Loop Capital set a $17.00 price target on Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armistice Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 8,881,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,708,000 after acquiring an additional 313,944 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,878,000. Velan Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,919,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Finally, Kalehua Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,959,000. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRCA opened at $4.38 on Monday. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $3.28 and a twelve month high of $9.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $75.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.87.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $5.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.52 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.