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ZYBERNO

Stock Report

Updated Aug 31, 2026

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRCA)

Healthcare • NASDAQ

$5.35

Professional Investment Analysis

ZYBERNO SCORE →

Is it a great business? Is it getting better?

15.0/100

POOR BUSINESS

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRCA) scores 15/100 — concerning metrics indicating significant structural or financial risks.

📊 How is the Zyberno Score calculated? +

The Zyberno Score answers one question: "Is this a quality business worth owning?" It's a 0-100 investment grade that evaluates business fundamentals across four critical dimensions, based on principles from Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch, and Charlie Munger.

The 4 Core Categories (25 points each):

1. PROFITABILITY (25 pts)

Metrics: ROE, ROIC, Net Margin, Operating Margin
Thresholds: ROE >20% excellent • ROIC >20% excellent • Net Margin >20% excellent • Operating Margin >25% excellent

2. FINANCIAL STRENGTH (25 pts)

Metrics: Debt-to-Equity, Current Ratio, Interest Coverage, Altman Z-Score
Thresholds: D/E <0.3 excellent • Current Ratio >2.5 excellent • Interest Coverage >10x excellent • Altman Z >3.0 safe

3. CASH FLOW QUALITY (25 pts)

Metrics: Free Cash Flow, OCF vs Net Income, FCF Margin
Thresholds: Positive & growing FCF excellent • OCF/NI >1.2x excellent (cash earnings exceed accounting)

4. GROWTH & CONSISTENCY (25 pts)

Metrics: Revenue Growth, Net Income Growth, FCF Growth, Piotroski F-Score
Thresholds: Growth via log-linear regression • Piotroski 8-9 excellent, 6-7 good

Score Interpretation:

75-100

GREAT BUSINESS

65-74

GOOD BUSINESS

50-64

AVERAGE BUSINESS

30-49

WEAK BUSINESS

0-29

POOR BUSINESS

→ View full VRCA quality analysis & detailed breakdown

VALUATION SIGNAL

N/A (Requires more data)

Requires fair value calculation and current price data

💰 How is Margin of Safety calculated? +

Margin of Safety measures how much discount or premium you're paying relative to a stock's intrinsic value. It's Benjamin Graham's core principle: the larger the margin, the lower your downside risk.

Formula: (Intrinsic Value − Current Price) ÷ Intrinsic Value × 100%

How We Calculate Intrinsic Value (DCF Method):

Step 1: Calculate current Owner Earnings (OCF − Maintenance CapEx)

Step 2: Calculate company-specific growth rate using log-linear regression on 16 quarters of Owner Earnings

Step 3: Project 10 years forward using the calculated growth rate

Step 4: Discount each year's cash flow to present value using 10% discount rate

Step 5: Calculate terminal value using 3% perpetual growth rate

Step 6: Sum all discounted cash flows = Intrinsic Value

What The Percentages Mean:

+50% or more

EXCELLENT — Very undervalued

+25% to +50%

GOOD — Attractive discount

0% to +25%

FAIR — Reasonable value

0% to -25%

CAUTION — Slight premium

-25% or worse

POOR — Overvalued

"Price is what you pay, value is what you get." — Warren Buffett

→ View full VRCA valuation analysis · → View full VRCA Brina Gap analysis

📈 How is Brina Gap calculated? +

Brina Gap measures the difference between the growth a business can fundamentally sustain and the growth the market is already pricing in.

Formula: Fundamental Growth Rate − Market-Implied Growth Rate

The Two Components:

Fundamental Growth Rate = ROIC × Reinvestment Rate

What the business can sustainably grow at based on how much it reinvests and what return it earns on that capital. Grounded in historical financials.

Market-Implied Growth Rate = Reverse DCF

The growth rate the current Enterprise Value implicitly assumes. Calculated by back-solving a 10-year DCF model (10% WACC, 3% terminal growth) until the present value of projected cash flows equals EV.

What The Gap Means:

Gap > +5% Market Underestimates — potential upside

+2% to +5% Slight Underestimate

-2% to +2% Fairly Priced — market consensus matches fundamentals

-5% to -2% Slight Overestimate

Gap < -5% Market Overestimates — price embeds optimism fundamentals don't support

A positive gap (market underestimates) combined with a positive Margin of Safety is the strongest combined signal — the business is both cheap historically and forward economics are stronger than the price suggests.

Critical Financial Health Indicators

Return on Equity (Profitability):CRITICAL (-444.4%)

Debt-to-Equity (Solvency Risk):AVERAGE (0.74x)

Operating Margin (Operational Efficiency):CRITICAL (0.0%)

Return on Capital (Capital Efficiency):CRITICAL (-85.8%)

📊 Valuation Trilogy

Three interconnected metrics for complete valuation analysis

Click any metric for full methodology and detailed analysis

Zyberno's Verdict

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRCA) stock report — Zyberno Score 15/100 (POOR BUSINESS). Full financial analysis on Zyberno.

Over the trailing twelve months, VRCA generated -$60.95M in Owner Earnings. Capital was deployed as follows: $27.00K invested in capital expenditures. Reinvestment rate: 0.6%.

DIVISION I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A. Market Valuation

Market Price & Capitalization (2)

Current Price:5.35

Market Cap:$113.98M

Valuation Multiples (3)

P/B Ratio:26.46x

P/S Ratio:3.20x

Peg Ratio:-999.00x

Enterprise Metrics (1)

Enterprise Value:$104.53M

Price Action & Momentum (1)

% of 52-Week High:54.5%

B. Profitability Assessment

Return Metrics (5)

ROE:

-444.4%

📊 Click to view full VRCA ROE analysis →

ROA:-76.6%

Roic:

-85.8%

📊 Click to view full VRCA ROIC analysis →

Reinvestment Rate:0.6%

Fundamental Growth Rate (g):-0.5%

Margin Analysis (1)

Ebitda Margin:-79.5%

Yield Metrics (2)

Earnings Yield:-$54.94

Dividend Yield:0.0%

C. Log-Linear Regression Growth Trends

Earnings Surprise (SUE) (3)

Earnings Surprise (SUE):

-1.33

📊 Click to view full VRCA Earnings Surprise analysis →

EPS Surprise vs Expected:-16,433.3%

Latest Earnings Filed:2026-08-06

Revenue Growth (Linear) (1)

Revenue Growth Rate (Linear):100.0%

D. Financial Stability

Liquidity Ratios (3)

Current Ratio:1.45x

Quick Ratio:1.33x

Cash Ratio:0.50x

Leverage Analysis (3)

Debt To Equity Ttm:0.74x

Debt-to-Equity Ratio:0.74x

Debt To Ebitda:-999.00x

Coverage Ratios (2)

Interest Coverage Ratio:-3.27x

Times Interest Earned:-3.27

Capital Structure (4)

Working Capital:10,197,000.00

Cash And Cash Equivalents:11,198,000.00

Long Term Debt:$1.39M

Net Debt:-$9.45M

DIVISION II: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS

A. Income Statement Analysis

Revenue Components (2)

Revenue TTM: $35.58M

Linear Growth: 100.0%

📊 Click to view full VRCA Revenue analysis & methodology →

Cost Of Revenue Ttm:$2.60M

Profitability Breakdown (2)

Gross profit TTM: $4.58M

Linear Growth: 3.2%

📊 Click to view full VRCA Gross Profit analysis & methodology →

-$28.38M

Bottom Line Performance (3)

-$31.18M

Income Before Tax:$0.00

Ebitda Ttm:-28,279,000.00

Operating Expenses (5)

Operating Expenses:58,698,000.00

R And D Expense:14,619,000.00

Sga Expense:37,858,000.00

Income Tax Expense:$0.00

Interest Expense:3,732,000.00

Expense Ratios (3)

R And D To Revenue Percentage:249.4%

Sga To Revenue Percentage:645.8%

Ebitda Margin:-79.5%

B. Balance Sheet Analysis

Asset Composition (5)

Total Assets:$36.02M

Current Assets:$32.64M

Ppe Net:177,000.00

Goodwill:0.00

Intangible Assets:$0.00

Liability Structure (4)

Total Liabilities:31,710,000.00

Current Liabilities:22,442,000.00

Long Term Debt:$1.39M

Short Term Debt:$355.00K

Equity & Capital (3)

Equity:$4.31M

Retained Earnings:-$347.75M

Common Stock:200,000,000.00

Working Capital Items (3)

Accounts Receivable:10,939,000.00

Inventory:2,712,000.00

Accounts Payable:1,603,000.00

Special Items (2)

Contract Liabilities:1,335,000.00

Stock Based Compensation:1,213,000.00

C. Cash Flow Analysis

Operating Activities (2)

-$14.11M-$14.14M

Investment Activities (2)

Investing Cash Flow:$0.00

Capital Expenditures Ttm:27,000.00

Financing Activities (3)

Financing Cash Flow:-$120.00K

Dividends Paid Ttm:0.00

Stock Repurchase:0.00

Capital Transactions (3)

Common Stock Issuance:30,301,000.00

Long Term Debt Issuance:$0.00

Long Term Debt Repayments:$0.00

Non-Cash Items (1)

Depreciation Amortization Ttm:98,000.00

DIVISION III: OPERATIONAL METRICS

A. Per Share Analysis

Earnings Per Share (3)

EPS (Basic TTM):-2.67

-$2.67

Earnings Per Share Ttm:-$1.46

Revenue & Cash Per Share (2)

Sales Per Share Ttm:1.67

Operating Cash Flow Per Share:-$0.83

Book Value & Capital (2)

Book Value Per Share:$0.20

Cash Per Share:0.53

Dividend Policy (1)

Dividend Payout Ratio:-999.00x

B. Operational Efficiency

Asset Utilization (2)

Asset Turnover Ttm:0.87x

Working Capital Turnover Ttm:3.49x

Receivables Management (2)

Receivables Turnover Ttm:3.25x

Days Sales Outstanding Ttm:112.23

Inventory Management (2)

Inventory Turnover Ttm:0.96x

Days Inventory Outstanding Ttm:380.72

Payables & Cash Cycle (2)

Days Payable Outstanding:225.04

Cash Conversion Cycle:267.91

C. Quality & Risk Metrics

Financial Quality Scores (2)

Financial Strength Score:60.00

Quality Score:30.00

Market Metrics (2)

Beta:0.00x

Volatility Category:unknown

DIVISION IV: INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

A. Value Investment Framework

Owner Earnings Analysis (1)

-$60.95M

Damodaran Growth Analysis (2)

Reinvestment Rate:0.6%

Fundamental Growth Rate (g):-0.5%

B. Log-Linear Regression Growth Analysis

Growth Rates (Log-Linear Regression) (1)

Revenue Growth Rate (Linear):100.0%

Other Growth Rates (2)

Gross Profit Growth Rate (Linear):3.2%

Book Value Growth Rate (Linear):-26.9%

C. Company Profile & Context

Corporate Information (6)

Symbol:VRCA

Company Name:Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Sector:Healthcare

Industry:Pharmaceuticals

Exchange:NASDAQ

Country:United States

Market Classification (3)

Market Cap Category:N/A

Price Category:low

Volume Category:N/A

Share Structure (3)

Shares Outstanding:21.31M

Shares Outstanding Basic:21.31M

Shares Outstanding Diluted:21.31M

Data Processing Info (3)

Processing Version:v3.0

Last Updated:2026-08-31 17:16:33 UTC

Data Timestamp:2026-08-19T15:28:56.132032