Sovran Advisors LLC Sells 676,586 Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. $VRCA

Sovran Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRCA) by 90.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 73,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 676,586 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verrica Pharmaceuticals were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 8,881,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,708,000 after buying an additional 313,944 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 139,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 26,308 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $99,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Verrica Pharmaceuticals by 347.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 143,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 111,678 shares during the period. 42.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verrica Pharmaceuticals

In other Verrica Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Jayson Rieger acquired 94,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.24 per share, for a total transaction of $399,878.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 182,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,194.32. This represents a 106.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul B. Manning purchased 2,750,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.24 per share, with a total value of $11,663,230.88. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,348,372 shares in the company, valued at $14,197,097.28. This represents a 460.29% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 4,236,346 shares of company stock worth $17,962,107 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 54.00% of the company’s stock.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Verrica Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $7.18 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.99. The company has a market cap of $114.81 million, a PE ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.45. Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.28 and a fifty-two week high of $9.82.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRCA shares. Brookline Capital Management upgraded shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Loop Capital set a $17.00 target price on Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Verrica Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Profile

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of topical therapies for dermatological conditions. Its lead investigational product, VP-102, is a standardized formulation of cantharidin in a pre-measured applicator designed to treat molluscum contagiosum and common warts. Verrica’s approach emphasizes consistency of dosing and patient convenience, aiming to improve upon off‐label use of existing treatments.

Beyond VP-102, Verrica is advancing VP-103, a next‐generation topical candidate intended to optimize tolerability while maintaining efficacy against viral skin lesions.