Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a decline of 27.9% from the May 15th total of 3,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 381,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Currently, 8.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRCA opened at $0.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.63. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $0.38 and a one year high of $8.98. The firm has a market cap of $59.33 million, a P/E ratio of -0.53 and a beta of 1.75.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 million. On average, research analysts predict that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caligan Partners LP bought a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,201,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,811,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 21,789 shares during the last quarter. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 975.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 266,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 241,344 shares during the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRCA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verrica Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

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.