Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms Hold Rating for Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DCPH)

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DCPH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.60 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $26.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.55% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Jonestrading reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $25.60 target price on shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.87.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 72.1 %

Shares of DCPH traded up $10.56 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.21. 35,773,927 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 938,644. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.35. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $25.40. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DCPH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $48.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.93 million. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 119.33% and a negative return on equity of 49.44%. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.60) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Deciphera Pharmaceuticals will post -2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deciphera Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $291,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,006,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,307,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,220,000 after buying an additional 290,968 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 1,021,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,482,000 after buying an additional 651,800 shares during the period. 70.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Deciphera Pharmaceuticals

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops drugs to enhance the lives of cancer patients by addressing key mechanisms of drug resistance that limit the rate and durability of response to existing cancer therapies in the United States and internationally. Its lead drug candidate is QINLOCK used for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), as well as in INTRIGUE Phase 3 study to treat second-line GIST.