Short Interest in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Drops By 32.6%

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, a decrease of 32.6% from the November 15th total of 4,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 869,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $0.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $0.70 and a twelve month high of $11.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.70 million, a PE ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.83.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by ($0.12). Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 591.84% and a negative net margin of 625.06%. The business had revenue of ($1.78) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $50,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 404.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 25,130 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $332,000. 42.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Brookline Capital Management reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $11.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc, a clinical-stage dermatology therapeutics company, develops medications for the treatment of skin diseases in the United States. Its product pipeline comprises YCANTH (VP-102), which is in phase III clinical trial for the treatment of common warts; and has completed phase II clinical trial for the treatment of external genital warts.