Simplify Asset Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 280,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,041,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRCA. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 7,099,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,199 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,999,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,935 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,268,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,511,000 after acquiring an additional 7,609 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 42.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verrica Pharmaceuticals

In other Verrica Pharmaceuticals news, insider Joe Bonaccorso sold 25,461 shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total value of $179,754.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,931 shares in the company, valued at $754,932.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ted White sold 32,469 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 250,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,765,854.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joe Bonaccorso sold 25,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total value of $179,754.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,932.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.60% of the company’s stock.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.9 %

NASDAQ VRCA opened at $1.94 on Friday. Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $1.77 and a one year high of $11.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $82.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.06 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.21.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.