Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New $2.83 Million Investment in Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon initiated a $2.83 million position in Kura Oncology, purchasing 257,767 shares, while several other institutional investors also increased their holdings.
• Kura Oncology shares opened at $13.25, near their 52-week high of $13.90. The company beat quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, reporting $20.87 million in revenue and a loss of $0.77 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $25.40, although company insiders sold 120,761 shares worth about $1.28 million over the past three months.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 257,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,828,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.29% of Kura Oncology as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KURA. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,931,090 shares of the company's stock worth $51,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587,959 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 101.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,224,590 shares of the company's stock worth $19,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,228 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,830,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,020,000 after purchasing an additional 965,256 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,062,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,816,000 after purchasing an additional 820,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 63.0% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,911,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,032,000 after purchasing an additional 738,761 shares during the period.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

NASDAQ:KURA opened at $13.25 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -3.93 and a beta of 0.44. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.36 and a 52-week high of $13.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.82.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In related news, insider Teresa Bair sold 31,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.63, for a total value of $397,680.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 195,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,468,457.72. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Powl sold 4,345 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.89, for a total transaction of $51,662.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,012,608.41. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 120,761 shares of company stock worth $1,283,346. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

Kura Oncology, Inc NASDAQ: KURA is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of targeted oncology therapies. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, the company leverages expertise in molecular biology and precision medicine to identify key drivers of cancer growth and design small-molecule inhibitors that block those pathways. Kura's research platform integrates genomic insights with medicinal chemistry to advance candidates against well-validated targets in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

The company's lead clinical candidate, tipifarnib, is a farnesyltransferase inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of HRAS-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and various non-small cell lung cancers.

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