Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) Stock Price Up 26.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) traded up 26.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $0.54 and last traded at $0.53. 786,193 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 569,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $0.62 and a 200-day moving average of $0.92. The company has a market cap of $48.65 million, a PE ratio of -0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRCA. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 404.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 25,130 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 36,028 shares in the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is currently 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.