Insider Buying: Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) COO Acquires 10,000 Shares of Stock

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) COO David Zawitz purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.24 per share, for a total transaction of $42,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 21,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,040. The trade was a 90.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRCA traded up $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.12. The stock had a trading volume of 262,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,852. Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.28 and a 12-month high of $13.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.43.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.14) by $1.27. The firm had revenue of $14.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.34 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verrica Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 306.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 58,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 44,275 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 29,256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 127.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 99,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 55,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.45% of the company’s stock.

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.