Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest rose 18.2% to 478,579 shares as of March 13, equal to about 6.1% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of 3.2 days.
• Several hedge funds increased or initiated positions—most notably Armistice Capital growing to 1,118,925 shares after adding 479,732 shares—leaving institutional ownership at roughly 42.45%.
• Verrica missed EPS for the quarter (reported −$0.51 vs. −$0.43 expected) while beating revenue at $5.09M; the stock trades near $5.20 with a market cap of about $89M and a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $17 price target.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 478,579 shares, a growth of 18.2% from the February 26th total of 405,005 shares. Approximately 6.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 151,325 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,878,000. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,118,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,298,000 after purchasing an additional 479,732 shares in the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $3,919,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $1,210,000. Finally, Kalehua Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,959,000. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $5.20. 21,653 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,999. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $3.28 and a 52 week high of $9.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.27 million, a P/E ratio of -3.29 and a beta of 1.47.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $5.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.52 million. Research analysts expect that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRCA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Loop Capital set a $17.00 target price on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. upgraded shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.00.

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.

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