Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies cut its Kura Oncology stake by 13.5% in the first quarter, selling 247,998 shares and retaining 1.58 million shares valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• Other major institutional investors generally increased their positions, including State Street, which raised its stake by 47.5%, and AQR Capital Management, which increased holdings by 36.6%.
• Kura shares opened at $9.01, while analysts maintained a generally positive outlook with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $25.46. The company remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly loss of $0.83 per share and revenue below expectations.

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,582,568 shares of the company's stock after selling 247,998 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.78% of Kura Oncology worth $12,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 8,575,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,099,000 after buying an additional 459,422 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,507,627 shares of the company's stock worth $57,224,000 after acquiring an additional 39,105 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 4,936,000 shares of the company's stock worth $51,285,000 after acquiring an additional 264,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Kura Oncology by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,931,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kura Oncology by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,062,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,816,000 after acquiring an additional 820,020 shares in the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of Kura Oncology stock opened at $9.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.14, a current ratio of 6.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.45 and a twelve month high of $12.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.27. The firm has a market cap of $799.82 million, a PE ratio of -2.69 and a beta of 0.35.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.05. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 141.95% and a negative net margin of 411.19%.The company had revenue of $18.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.97 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KURA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kura Oncology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, June 15th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.46.

Insider Activity at Kura Oncology

In other news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 84,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total transaction of $834,002.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,790,627.90. This represents a 31.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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