AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stock Position in Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Kura Oncology, Inc. by 189.1% during the first quarter, owning 58,772 shares valued at approximately $388,000.
• Kura Oncology reported a loss of $0.75 EPS for the most recent quarter, missing analyst expectations by $0.90, with revenue significantly below projections at $15.29 million.
• Analysts have varied target prices for Kura Oncology, with Barclays lowering theirs from $32.00 to $11.00, while the consensus price target stands at $24.10 with a rating of "Moderate Buy."

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) by 189.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,772 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,441 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned about 0.07% of Kura Oncology worth $388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KURA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,948,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,658,000 after buying an additional 129,337 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Kura Oncology in the fourth quarter valued at $38,769,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Kura Oncology by 180.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,367,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521,954 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kura Oncology by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,425,960 shares of the company's stock worth $12,419,000 after acquiring an additional 372,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosight Management LP increased its stake in Kura Oncology by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. Prosight Management LP now owns 1,325,000 shares of the company's stock worth $11,541,000 after acquiring an additional 619,891 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KURA. Barclays reduced their price objective on Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on Kura Oncology from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.10.

Kura Oncology Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:KURA traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.90. 1,676,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,943,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 6.16 and a current ratio of 6.16. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.41 and a 52-week high of $21.57. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $6.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.57.

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

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.