Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Climb 9.6% – What’s Next?

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA)’s share price traded up 9.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $10.11 and last traded at $10.26. Approximately 325,621 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,670,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KURA. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.35.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 5.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a current ratio of 4.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.35. The stock has a market cap of $879.37 million, a P/E ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 0.47.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $20.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 207.18% and a negative net margin of 384.30%. Equities research analysts expect that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kura Oncology

In related news, insider Francis Burrows sold 20,726 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total value of $224,462.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,401.41. The trade was a 32.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Powl sold 17,020 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.53, for a total transaction of $179,220.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 152,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,181.97. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 153,881 shares of company stock valued at $1,708,183. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Kura Oncology during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,286,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 32.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,425,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,591,000 after purchasing an additional 348,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Kura Oncology by 46.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,230,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,001,000 after purchasing an additional 388,003 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Kura Oncology during the second quarter worth approximately $10,927,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 89.6% in the 1st quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 857,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,971,000 after acquiring 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.