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

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $2.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $11.00. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 150.78% from the company's previous close.

VRCA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Brookline Capital Management restated a "hold" rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verrica Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 44.2 %

Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $0.80. 3,679,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,386. Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $0.75 and a fifty-two week high of $11.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.58.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of ($1.78) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.53 million. Verrica Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 591.84% and a negative net margin of 625.06%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verrica Pharmaceuticals will post -1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRCA. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $69,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 20.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,680 shares of the company's stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 4,393 shares in the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.