Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $5.17, but opened at $4.35. Erasca shares last traded at $5.0050, with a volume of 2,160,536 shares changing hands.

Specifically, General Counsel Ebun Garner sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.59, for a total transaction of $670,800.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 25,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,174.84. This represents a 82.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ERAS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $6.00 price target on Erasca in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $4.00 price objective on Erasca in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Erasca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Erasca from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Erasca in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $5.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.44.

Erasca Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of -15.02 and a beta of 1.15.

Erasca (NASDAQ:ERAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). On average, analysts forecast that Erasca, Inc. will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Erasca

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Erasca by 58.0% in 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. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Erasca in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Erasca in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Erasca during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Erasca during the third quarter worth $33,000. 67.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.