Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.01, but opened at $17.84. Erasca shares last traded at $16.3150, with a volume of 2,966,751 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ERAS has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Erasca from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Erasca in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Erasca from $12.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Erasca from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Erasca from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.63.

Erasca Stock Up 9.4%

The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.57 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.46 and its 200 day moving average is $7.81.

Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.01. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Erasca, Inc. will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Erasca

In related news, insider Ebun Garner sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $1,312,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,246.40. This represents a 76.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shannon Morris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.04, for a total value of $300,800.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 14.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Erasca

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Erasca by 594.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 396,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 339,177 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Erasca by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,835,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,143,000 after acquiring an additional 77,790 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Erasca by 423.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 244,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,637 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Erasca by 39.1% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 37,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 10,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Erasca by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 172,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 58,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.78% of the company’s stock.

About Erasca

Erasca, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of precision medicines for patients with cancer. The company focuses on small molecule therapeutics that target critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and survival, with a primary emphasis on inhibitors of the MAPK pathway. Erasca’s approach is designed to deliver oral, targeted therapies that address both oncogene‐driven and immuno‐oncology indications, aiming to improve outcomes for patients with unmet medical needs.

Erasca’s pipeline comprises multiple development candidates, including small molecule inhibitors engineered to disrupt key nodes in cancer cell signaling.