Great Lakes Advisors LLC Invests $2.85 Million in Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors initiated a 259,857-share position in Kura Oncology worth approximately $2.85 million, representing 0.29% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with 10 Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell; the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $25.62 target price.
• Kura reported quarterly revenue of $20.87 million and an adjusted loss of $0.77 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. CEO Troy Edward Wilson also purchased 100,000 shares for $1.11 million.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 259,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,851,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.29% of Kura Oncology as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KURA. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Kura Oncology by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,572 shares of the company's stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KURA shares. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.62.

Insider Transactions at Kura Oncology

In other news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson bought 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,112,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 379,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,216,637.28. This represents a 35.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mollie Leoni sold 84,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total transaction of $834,002.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 182,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,790,627.90. The trade was a 31.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KURA opened at $11.71 on Friday. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.95 and a 1-year high of $12.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.73 and a quick ratio of 4.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.11. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 384.30% and a negative return on equity of 207.18%. The company had revenue of $20.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.16 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kura Oncology

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source