Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Short Interest Update

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a drop of 27.9% from the May 15th total of 3,150,000 shares. Approximately 8.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 381,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,269 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 21,789 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 139,055 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 26,308 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 64.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,388 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 29,256 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 306.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 58,711 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 44,275 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 127.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 99,505 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 55,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRCA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $0.58. The stock had a trading volume of 368,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,322. The stock's 50 day moving average is $0.54 and its 200 day moving average is $0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.09 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.75. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $0.38 and a twelve month high of $8.98.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.