Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Lowered to “Sector Perform” Rating by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $2.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $11.00.

VRCA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Brookline Capital Management reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRCA opened at $0.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.07. The stock has a market cap of $37.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.70 and a 12 month high of $11.41.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last posted 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 3,102.90%. The business had revenue of ($1.78) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 million. As a group, analysts predict that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRCA. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $69,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 20.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 4,393 shares in the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.