BlackRock Inc. Takes $115.29 Million Position in Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 10.5 million Kura Oncology shares worth approximately $115.3 million, giving it an 11.84% stake in the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.
• Kura reported quarterly revenue of $20.87 million and a loss of $0.77 per share, beating analyst estimates, but remains unprofitable with a negative net margin of 384.3%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $25.40 versus the stock’s $12.66 opening price; CEO Troy Edward Wilson also purchased 100,000 shares.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,509,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,286,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 11.84% of Kura Oncology at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 115.3% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of KURA opened at $12.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a current ratio of 4.73. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a one year low of $7.36 and a one year high of $13.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $10.86 and its 200-day moving average is $9.64.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $20.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 384.30% and a negative return on equity of 207.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KURA. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. CLSA set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.40.

Insider Transactions at Kura Oncology

In other Kura Oncology news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson bought 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $1,239,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,937,213.66. The trade was a 26.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 31,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.63, for a total transaction of $397,680.81. Following the transaction, the insider owned 195,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,457.72. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 120,761 shares of company stock worth $1,283,346. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Kura Oncology 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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