330,421 Shares in Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has taken a new position in Kura Oncology, Inc., acquiring 330,421 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. and Hsbc Holdings PLC, have increased their stakes in Kura Oncology, suggesting strong institutional interest.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Kura Oncology, with price targets ranging significantly, and the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $24.10.

Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 330,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Kura Oncology as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 18.9% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,008 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 5,215 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 5,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,784 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 6,154 shares during the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:KURA traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $8.25. 2,185,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,657,679. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.61. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.41 and a 52 week high of $21.40. The company has a market cap of $716.10 million, a PE ratio of -3.65 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 6.16, a current ratio of 6.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $15.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.95 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KURA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, June 20th. JMP Securities cut their price target on Kura Oncology from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kura Oncology news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.20 per share, with a total value of $410,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at $827,937.60. This represents a 98.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Kura Oncology 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.