Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Stock: Insider Mollie Leoni Sells 28,802 Shares

Key Points

• Insider selling: Mollie Leoni sold 28,802 Kura Oncology shares at an average $10.75, reducing her ownership by 16.95%; she had also sold 12,448 shares the previous day. Several other insiders reportedly sold shares during the same period.
• Stock and outlook: KURA rose 1.9% to $10.81, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $25.40 price target, despite the company’s ongoing losses and negative margins.
• Pipeline development: Preclinical data for KO-7246 showed improved beta-cell regeneration and glycemic control in diabetes models, but the program still faces clinical, regulatory and financing risks before human trials can begin.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) insider Mollie Leoni sold 28,802 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total transaction of $309,621.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 141,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,516,771.25. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Mollie Leoni also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 28th, Mollie Leoni sold 12,448 shares of Kura Oncology stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total transaction of $130,704.00.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 1.9%

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

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

Key Headlines 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 Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth about $115,286,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Kura Oncology in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,735,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Kura Oncology in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,927,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Kura Oncology in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,749,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE raised its holdings in Kura Oncology by 89.6% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 857,474 shares of the company's stock worth $6,971,000 after purchasing an additional 405,229 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KURA shares. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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.