Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.72 EPS

Key Points

• Verrica Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.02, exceeding expectations by $0.12 compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.10).
• The company's stock traded up 1.8% to $6.82, with a market capitalization of $63.09 million and a P/E ratio of -0.57.
• Recent analyst reports included a shift of Verrica from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, with a consensus target price of $80.00.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by $0.72, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $12.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 million.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.1%

VRCA traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $5.96. 47,557 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,269. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.32 million, a PE ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.66 and a 200-day moving average of $6.02. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $3.82 and a 12-month high of $30.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRCA. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 139,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 26,308 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 44,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 64.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,388 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 29,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.45% of the company's stock.

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.