Insider Selling: Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) SVP Sells $48,373.50 in Stock

Key Points

• Kura Oncology SVP Thomas Doyle sold 4,607 shares at an average price of $10.50, generating $48,373.50; he retained 142,428 shares after the transaction.
• KURA shares recently traded near $10.81, with a market capitalization of approximately $962 million and a 52-week range of $7.36 to $13.90. The company remains unprofitable but exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $25.40, although insider selling and the company’s substantial losses remain risks.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) SVP Thomas Doyle sold 4,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total value of $48,373.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 142,428 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,494. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of KURA traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.81. 1,890,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,673,937. The company has a market cap of $961.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 4.73, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.15. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.36 and a 1 year high of $13.90.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $20.87 million during 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, equities research analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CLSA set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.40.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kura Oncology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $115,286,000. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Kura Oncology during the second quarter worth approximately $12,735,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Kura Oncology by 32.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,425,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,591,000 after purchasing an additional 348,127 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,927,000.

Kura Oncology News Summary

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.

About Kura Oncology

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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