Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Price Target to $11.00

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $13.00 to $11.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VRCA. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Brookline Capital Management reiterated a hold rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $11.75.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $1.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.45. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.90. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $1.04 and a one year high of $11.41.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verrica Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Joe Bonaccorso sold 25,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 106,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,932.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 106,931 shares in the company, valued at $754,932.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ted White sold 32,469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total transaction of $229,231.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 250,121 shares in the company, valued at $1,765,854.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 4,514 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 4,393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.45% of the company’s stock.

About Verrica Pharmaceuticals

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.