Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) to Sector Perform

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA – Get Rating) was downgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on VRCA. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.25 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 3rd. Brookline Capital Management reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, March 10th. Brookline Capital Acquisition started coverage on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $16.89.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $5.56 on Wednesday. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $5.20 and a fifty-two week high of $14.79. The company has a market capitalization of $153.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.56 and a beta of 1.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.52.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.13. Research analysts anticipate that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 2,540.4% in the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 122,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 117,442 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 213.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,645 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 11.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 238,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 25,089 shares in the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 30.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 44,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 34.58% of the company’s stock.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Company Profile (Get Rating)

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc, a dermatology therapeutics company, develops and commercializes treatments for people with skin diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate includes VP-102 for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum; that has completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of external genital warts; and which is in Phase II clinical trial for treating common warts.

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