EcoR1 Capital LLC Decreases Position in Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Key Points

• EcoR1 Capital LLC sold 916,971 shares of Kura Oncology, reducing its stake by 25.8%, leaving it with 2,640,298 shares, which constitute about 1.0% of its portfolio.
• In the first quarter, other hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Kura Oncology, with BVF Inc. IL growing its stake by 202.0% and Armistice Capital LLC by 13.3%.
• Kura Oncology reported a loss of $0.75 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, missing analyst expectations, with revenue at $15.29 million compared to estimates of $64.95 million.

EcoR1 Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) by 25.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,640,298 shares of the company's stock after selling 916,971 shares during the quarter. Kura Oncology comprises 1.0% of EcoR1 Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. EcoR1 Capital LLC owned about 3.05% of Kura Oncology worth $17,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Kura Oncology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Kura Oncology by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,206 shares of the company's stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 5,215 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Kura Oncology by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 54,491 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 11,406 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Kura Oncology by 969.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 163,559 shares of the company's stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 148,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Kura Oncology by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 131,718 shares of the company's stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 9,050 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KURA. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JMP Securities dropped their target price on Kura Oncology from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.10.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of Kura Oncology stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $8.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,507,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,491. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.41 and a 12-month high of $21.40. The company has a market capitalization of $706.55 million, a P/E ratio of -3.60 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.56.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $64.95 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.