Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Climb 4.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) traded up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $10.97 and last traded at $10.97. 376,341 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,669,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KURA has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.69.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.73, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $957.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.20 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.23.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.11. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 207.18% and a negative net margin of 384.30%.The business had revenue of $20.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.16 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kura Oncology news, SVP Thomas Doyle sold 4,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total value of $48,373.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 142,428 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,494. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathleen Ford sold 3,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total transaction of $39,431.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 142,986 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,099.50. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 153,881 shares of company stock worth $1,708,183 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KURA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,286,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Kura Oncology in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,735,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Kura Oncology in the second quarter worth $10,927,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in Kura Oncology in the second quarter worth $4,749,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE grew its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 89.6% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 857,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,971,000 after purchasing an additional 405,229 shares during the last quarter.

About Kura Oncology

Kura Oncology, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company uses molecular and genomic insights to identify therapies designed to target specific biological drivers of tumor growth.

Kura’s lead program is ziftomenib, an oral menin inhibitor developed for genetically defined forms of acute myeloid leukemia, including disease associated with NPM1 mutations and KMT2A rearrangements. The company has also evaluated additional targeted oncology candidates, including therapies directed at the RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Kura has conducted clinical development activities through research collaborations and studies involving patients and institutions in the United States and other regions.