Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Kura Oncology was downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, following disappointing quarterly earnings that significantly missed analysts' expectations.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $5.54, down 7.0%, with a fifty-two week low of $5.41 and a high of $21.57, indicating considerable volatility.
• Despite the downgrade, several other firms, including JMP Securities and HC Wainwright, maintain positive ratings with target prices ranging from $28.00 to $40.00, suggesting mixed sentiment among analysts.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on KURA. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.10.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

NASDAQ:KURA traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.57. 687,318 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,950. The business's 50-day moving average price is $6.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.66. The company has a market cap of $570.60 million, a PE ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 0.41. Kura Oncology has a 12-month low of $5.41 and a 12-month high of $21.57. The company has a quick ratio of 6.16, a current ratio of 6.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $15.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.95 million. On average, analysts expect that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 7,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Flower City Capital bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000.

About Kura Oncology

Kura Oncology, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company's pipeline consists of small molecule product candidates that target cancer. Its lead product candidates are ziftomenib, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of the menin-KMT2A interaction for the treatment of genetically defined subsets of acute leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia; tipifarnib, an orally bioavailable farnesyl transferase inhibitor combination with alpelisib for patients with PIK3CA-dependent HNSCC; and KO-2806, a farnesyl transferase inhibitor for the treatment of solid tumors.