Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from hold to sell, adding to a mixed analyst picture that still leaves the stock with an overall Hold consensus and a $14.50 target price.
• The stock was down 7.7% and opened at $5.02, well below its 52-week high of $9.82; the company also has a small market cap of about $86.24 million.
• Verrica recently beat quarterly expectations, posting ($0.41) EPS versus an expected ($0.59) and revenue of $5.02 million versus $4.51 million, though analysts still expect a full-year loss of $1.84 per share.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VRCA. Zacks Research raised shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verrica Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRCA opened at $5.02 on Friday. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $3.28 and a 1 year high of $9.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.87 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business's 50 day moving average price is $5.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.24.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.51 million. Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1,077.78% and a negative net margin of 47.97%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 22.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 75.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.45% of the company's stock.

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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