Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Insider Sells 17,020 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Insider Brian Powl sold 17,020 Kura Oncology shares at an average price of $10.53, worth approximately $179,221, reducing his position by 10.06% to 152,249 shares.
• Kura shares recently traded at $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.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $25.40, though the company remains unprofitable and faces risks from insider selling and the clinical development of its drug programs.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) insider Brian Powl sold 17,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.53, for a total transaction of $179,220.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 152,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,181.97. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of Kura Oncology stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,890,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,937. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $961.66 million, a P/E ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 0.44. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a one year low of $7.36 and a one year high of $13.90.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $20.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 384.30% and a negative return on equity of 207.18%. On average, analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 EPS for the current year.

Key Kura Oncology News

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 Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 115.3% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kura Oncology by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Kura Oncology in the 2nd quarter worth about $113,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new position in Kura Oncology in the 1st quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the second quarter worth approximately $132,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KURA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price target on Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.40.

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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