StockNews.com Lowers Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on KURA. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. They set a buy rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Kura Oncology from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

KURA opened at $17.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.11. Kura Oncology has a 1 year low of $7.41 and a 1 year high of $24.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.26 and a quick ratio of 12.26.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.49) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Kura Oncology will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Kathleen Ford sold 1,496 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $26,628.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 21,602 shares in the company, valued at $384,515.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kura Oncology news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson sold 91,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.23, for a total transaction of $1,841,981.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,308.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathleen Ford sold 1,496 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total value of $26,628.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 21,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,515.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,919 shares of company stock valued at $1,946,415 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 216.7% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 95,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 261,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kura Oncology by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 563,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,141 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 234.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 57,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 40,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 220.4% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 264,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 182,221 shares in 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.