Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) by 404.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,341 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,130 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.07% of Verrica Pharmaceuticals worth $45,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 13.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 512,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 61,041 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $335,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 36,028 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 42.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRCA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $2.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. HC Wainwright cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Brookline Capital Management reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ VRCA opened at $0.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.96 million, a PE ratio of -0.39 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $0.82 and its 200 day moving average is $2.34. Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.61 and a twelve month high of $11.41.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

About Verrica Pharmaceuticals

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.