Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Down 3.5% – Here’s Why

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA)’s share price was down 3.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.85 and last traded at $9.8240. Approximately 486,031 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,588,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KURA shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, December 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research raised Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.57.

Kura Oncology Trading Down 3.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.63 and a 200-day moving average of $8.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $852.36 million, a P/E ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 0.21.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by ($0.28). Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 208.48% and a negative return on equity of 65.42%. The company had revenue of $20.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.48 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total transaction of $77,164.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,070.14. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 4,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $50,746.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,273.26. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 122,675 shares of company stock worth $1,196,657. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BVF Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 202.0% in the 1st quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 7,754,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,177,000 after buying an additional 5,186,660 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in Kura Oncology by 13.3% during the first quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 6,572,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,375,000 after purchasing an additional 772,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,468,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,396,000 after buying an additional 120,197 shares during the last quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.1% in the second quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 4,200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559,702 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Kura Oncology by 101.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,224,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,228 shares during the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

Kura Oncology, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company’s pipeline consists of small molecule product candidates that target cancer. Its lead product candidates are ziftomenib, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of the menin-KMT2A interaction for the treatment of genetically defined subsets of acute leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia; tipifarnib, an orally bioavailable farnesyl transferase inhibitor combination with alpelisib for patients with PIK3CA-dependent HNSCC; and KO-2806, a farnesyl transferase inhibitor for the treatment of solid tumors.