Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decline of 34.2% from the November 30th total of 3,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 891,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRCA. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 404.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 25,130 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 106.5% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 36,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright downgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Brookline Capital Management reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verrica Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRCA traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $0.68. 1,036,385 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,555. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $0.61 and a twelve month high of $11.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.37 and a beta of 1.40.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by ($0.12). Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 625.06% and a negative return on equity of 591.84%. The company had revenue of ($1.78) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 million. Analysts predict that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.