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

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.60.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Brookline Capital Management reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $11.00 to $2.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

VRCA stock opened at $0.86 on Friday. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $0.70 and a one year high of $11.41. The firm has a market cap of $39.37 million, a PE ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.34.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRCA. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,041,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $332,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 4,514 shares during the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.