351,142 Shares in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) Bought by Heights Capital Management Inc.

Heights Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 351,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000. Heights Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.77% of Verrica Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 404.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 25,130 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 233,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 85,336 shares during the last quarter. 42.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRCA opened at $0.49 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $0.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 million, a PE ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 1.68. Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.38 and a 1 year high of $11.41.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $0.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals 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.