Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Trading 26.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA)’s share price was up 26.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $0.54 and last traded at $0.53. Approximately 786,193 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average daily volume of 569,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $48.65 million, a P/E ratio of -0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $0.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.92.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $0.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 million. Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 591.84% and a negative net margin of 625.06%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 13.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 512,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 61,041 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position 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 period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $335,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 404.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 25,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.45% of the company’s stock.

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.