Wall Street Zen Upgrades Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Erasca's stock from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, indicating a more neutral outlook for investors.
• According to analysts, Erasca has a consensus target price of $4.29, with recent ratings varying from "buy" to "equal weight" from other firms.
• Erasca's recent quarterly earnings met expectations, reporting ($0.12) earnings per share, while institutional investors own approximately 67.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim set a $3.00 price target on shares of Erasca and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $2.00 price target (down previously from $4.00) on shares of Erasca in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3.71.

Erasca Trading Up 3.5%

ERAS traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 991,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,645. Erasca has a 1 year low of $1.01 and a 1 year high of $3.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1.51 and its 200-day moving average is $1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.29 and a beta of 1.08.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.12). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Erasca will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Erasca

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Erasca by 13.6% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 54,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 6,486 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Erasca by 58.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 7,923 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Erasca by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 112,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 9,039 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Erasca by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,714 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 10,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Erasca by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 37,360 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 10,501 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.78% of the company's stock.

About Erasca

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.