Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Short Interest Down 32.6% in November

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, a decrease of 32.6% from the November 15th total of 4,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 869,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.2 %

VRCA opened at $0.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.70 million, a P/E ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.34. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $0.70 and a one year high of $11.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.83.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VRCA. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Brookline Capital Management reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. HC Wainwright cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Verrica Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 404.6% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $69,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.