Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 34,304 Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Kura Oncology by 4.0%, selling 34,304 shares and now owning 0.96% of the company, valued at approximately $5.47 million.
• Kura Oncology's CEO, Troy Edward Wilson, significantly increased his holdings by purchasing 50,000 shares at an average price of $8.20, raising his total ownership to 100,968 shares.
• Kura Oncology reported a loss of ($0.75) earnings per share, significantly missing analysts' expectations, with revenues of $15.29 million versus estimates of $64.95 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 828,781 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,304 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.96% of Kura Oncology worth $5,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Kura Oncology during the 1st quarter valued at about $143,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,180,000. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Kura Oncology in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,008 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson bought 50,000 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.20 per share, with a total value of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at $827,937.60. The trade was a 98.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KURA. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of Kura Oncology from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.10.

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.