Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Thirteen brokerages covering Kura Oncology give an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy", with 10 buys, 2 holds and 1 sell, and an average 12‑month price target of $26.38.
• Kura missed quarterly expectations, reporting ($0.92) EPS versus a consensus (−$0.72) and revenue of $17.34M versus $34.71M, leaving the company with very negative margins and a forecasted −2.44 EPS for the year.
• Insiders reduced positions on Jan. 27 (Brian T. Powl sold 6,414 shares and Teresa Brophy Bair sold 11,208), with insiders selling 36,068 shares worth $305,135 in the last quarter and now owning 6.40% of the company.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.3750.

Several research firms have recently commented on KURA. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kura Oncology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian T. Powl sold 6,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total value of $54,262.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 183,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,506.50. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 11,208 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total value of $94,819.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 226,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,836.26. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 36,068 shares of company stock valued at $305,135 in the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

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

Kura Oncology Trading Up 8.3%

NASDAQ KURA opened at $9.68 on Friday. Kura Oncology has a one year low of $5.45 and a one year high of $12.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a current ratio of 6.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $859.20 million, a PE ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 0.25.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.20). Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 412.95% and a negative return on equity of 102.59%. The business had revenue of $17.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.71 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kura Oncology Company 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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