Insider Selling: Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) COO Sells $72,513.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Kura Oncology COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,906 shares at an average price of $10.50, generating $72,513 and reducing her ownership by 4.5%; she also sold an additional 3,668 shares the following day.
• KURA shares rose 1.9% to $10.81, while the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.77 per share—better than analysts’ expected $0.88 loss—and revenue of $20.87 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus from MarketBeat and an average price target of $25.40, despite the company’s negative margins and projected full-year loss.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,906 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total transaction of $72,513.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 146,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,539,867. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Kathleen Ford also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 29th, Kathleen Ford sold 3,668 shares of Kura Oncology stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total transaction of $39,431.00.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of KURA stock traded up $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $10.81. 1,890,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,937. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.36 and a 52 week high of $13.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $961.66 million, a PE ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $11.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.15. The company has a current ratio of 4.73, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $20.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 207.18% and a negative net margin of 384.30%. As a group, analysts forecast that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.40.

Key Stories Impacting Kura Oncology

Here are the key news stories impacting Kura Oncology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KO-7246 regenerated functional pancreatic beta-cell mass and improved glycemic control in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes models. Benefits persisted for at least one month after treatment stopped in a Type 1 diabetes model, suggesting potential disease-modifying activity. KO-7246 EASD announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The candidate increased beta-cell mass, endogenous insulin and C-peptide levels, and showed enhanced activity when combined with semaglutide. Results in human pancreatic islets also indicated selective beta-cell proliferation and improved glucose-responsive insulin secretion, strengthening the potential commercial value of Kura’s menin-inhibitor platform. KO-7246 preclinical data
• Neutral Sentiment: KO-7246 remains preclinical. Caspian plans IND-enabling work and a future Phase 1 study, with management scheduled to discuss the program on October 13. Any valuation benefit for KURA therefore depends on future clinical progress and the terms of Kura’s relationship with Caspian. Caspian and Kura KO-7246 report
• Negative Sentiment: Several Kura executives and insiders sold shares on September 28–29, including Mollie Leoni, Brian Powl, Kathleen Ford, Thomas Doyle and Teresa Bair. The transactions totaled approximately 97,000 shares and more than $1 million, signaling near-term insider selling pressure even though the sellers retained substantial holdings. Kura insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: The diabetes opportunity carries substantial execution risk, including potential clinical or regulatory setbacks, unexpected safety findings and the need for additional financing before human trials can begin.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the second quarter worth $1,029,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in Kura Oncology by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 13,000 shares of the company's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth about $159,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 136.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the period.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

Kura Oncology, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company's research programs target specific genetic and molecular abnormalities that contribute to tumor growth, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and selected solid tumors.

Kura's leading program has been ziftomenib, an oral, selective menin inhibitor being developed for genetically defined forms of acute myeloid leukemia, including cancers with NPM1 mutations or certain KMT2A rearrangements.

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