Reviewing ImmuCell (NASDAQ:ICCC) & Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA)

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRCA) and ImmuCell (NASDAQ:ICCC) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Verrica Pharmaceuticals and ImmuCell”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Verrica Pharmaceuticals	$35.58 million	2.03	-$17.89 million	($1.67)	-2.52
ImmuCell	$27.64 million	3.28	-$1.04 million	$0.08	124.62

ImmuCell has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Verrica Pharmaceuticals. Verrica Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ImmuCell, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Verrica Pharmaceuticals and ImmuCell’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verrica Pharmaceuticals	-102.84%	-407.11%	-70.17%
ImmuCell	2.57%	2.69%	1.76%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Verrica Pharmaceuticals and ImmuCell, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verrica Pharmaceuticals	1	1	3	0	2.40
ImmuCell	0	1	0	0	2.00

Verrica Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $12.67, suggesting a potential upside of 200.87%. Given Verrica Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Verrica Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than ImmuCell.

Volatility and Risk

Verrica Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.6, indicating that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ImmuCell has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.5% of Verrica Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.5% of ImmuCell shares are held by institutional investors. 52.9% of Verrica Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of ImmuCell shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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. The company also develops VP-315, an oncolytic peptide-based injectable therapy, which is in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of dermatology oncologic conditions which includes basal cell carcinoma; and VP-103, a cantharidin-based product candidate for the treatment of plantar warts and is in phase II clinical trial. In addition, it offers YCANTH for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum. The company has a collaboration and license agreement with Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of its product candidates for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum and common warts in Japan, including VP-102; and a license agreement with Lytix Biopharma AS to develop and commercialize VP-315 for dermatological oncology indications, such as non-metastatic melanoma and non-metastatic merkel cell carcinoma. Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

About ImmuCell

ImmuCell Corporation, an animal health company, develops, manufactures, and sells products that enhance the health and productivity of dairy and beef cattle in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Scours and Mastitis. It offers First Defense, an orally delivered scours preventive product for calves with claims against E. coli, coronavirus, and rotavirus; and Tri-Shield First Defense, a passive antibody product for the treatment of E. coli, coronavirus, and rotavirus. The company also provides California Mastitis Test, a quick on-farm diagnostic that is used to detect somatic cell counts in milk, as well as to determine, which quarter of the udder is mastitic; and Dual-Force First Defense, a bivalent gel tube formulation. In addition, it is developing Re-Tain Drug Product, a Nisin-based intramammary treatment of subclinical mastitis in lactating dairy cows. It sells its products through animal health distributors. ImmuCell Corporation was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.