Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS) Trading Up 4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) shares saw a 4% increase, closing at $2.20 after trading as high as $2.15, but with a 93% decline in trading volume compared to its average.
• Analysts have been changing their ratings, with Wall Street Zen upgrading to a "hold" while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America have set lower price targets of $2.00 and $1.00 respectively.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with 67.78% of the stock held by hedge funds and institutions, showcasing continued interest in Erasca despite mixed analyst ratings.

Shares of Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS - Get Free Report) were up 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $2.15 and last traded at $2.20. Approximately 89,382 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 1,351,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ERAS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Erasca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $2.00 target price (down from $4.00) on shares of Erasca in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $1.00 price objective (down previously from $4.00) on shares of Erasca in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3.71.

Erasca Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $642.51 million, a PE ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.45.

Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Erasca, Inc. will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Erasca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Erasca by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 54,111 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 6,486 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Erasca by 58.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 7,923 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 10,501 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Erasca in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Erasca by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 171,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 11,385 shares in the last quarter. 67.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Erasca Company Profile

Erasca, Inc, a clinical-stage precision oncology company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing therapies for patients with RAS/MAPK pathway-driven cancers. The company's lead product is naporafenib which is in phase 1b trial for patients with RAS Q16X solid tumors and plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 trial for patients with NRASm melanoma.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.