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

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,980,000 shares, a decrease of 28.9% from the August 15th total of 4,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 651,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 11.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRCA opened at $1.97 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58. The firm has a market cap of $84.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.13 and a beta of 1.48. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $1.85 and a 52 week high of $11.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.82 and a 200-day moving average of $6.29.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 million. Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 625.06% and a negative return on equity of 591.84%. As a group, analysts forecast that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verrica Pharmaceuticals

In other Verrica Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ted White sold 32,469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total transaction of $229,231.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 250,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,765,854.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ted White sold 32,469 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total transaction of $229,231.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 250,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,765,854.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joe Bonaccorso sold 25,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total transaction of $179,754.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,932.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 42.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 7,099,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060,199 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,999,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,280,000 after buying an additional 1,045,935 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $2,041,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $332,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $69,000. 42.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.