Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS)

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually large volume of calls—5,437 call options, a ~173% increase versus typical activity—signaling heavy bullish options interest in Erasca.
• Multiple analysts raised price targets (Mizuho to $19, HC Wainwright to $20, Piper Sandler to $18) and the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $16.63.
• Despite the options flow, Erasca shares slid 5.3% to $16.10 on high volume; insiders sold sizable blocks (20,000 and 80,000 shares), insiders hold 14.4% and institutional ownership is 67.78%.

Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 5,437 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 173% compared to the typical volume of 1,994 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ERAS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Erasca from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Erasca in a research note on Friday, March 13th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Erasca from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Erasca from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Erasca in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.63.

Erasca Trading Down 5.3%

NASDAQ:ERAS traded down $0.91 on Monday, hitting $16.10. 6,502,510 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,285,539. Erasca has a 1 year low of $1.06 and a 1 year high of $18.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.60. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -36.60 and a beta of 1.04.

Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS - Get Free Report) last announced 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, research analysts forecast that Erasca will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Erasca news, insider Shannon Morris sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.04, for a total value of $300,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ebun Garner sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $1,312,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,076 shares in the company, valued at $411,246.40. The trade was a 76.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 14.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Erasca

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Erasca by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,579 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Erasca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Erasca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Erasca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Erasca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 67.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Erasca Company Profile

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.

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