Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Kura Oncology's stock rating was downgraded from "hold" to a "strong sell" by Zacks Research, signaling a negative outlook for investors.
• The company reported disappointing earnings, with an EPS of ($0.75), missing the expected $0.15 by a wide margin and generating revenue significantly below forecasts.
• Insider trading activity has seen significant sales, with key insiders selling shares recently, indicating a 5.61% reduction in ownership for one insider after selling 8,805 shares.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on KURA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, June 20th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Kura Oncology from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.10.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

KURA stock opened at $10.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $874.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 0.32. 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 has a 52-week low of $5.41 and a 52-week high of $19.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $7.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.75.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.95 million. Equities research analysts expect that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In related news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 8,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $78,716.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 148,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,323,504.42. This represents a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,892 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $61,614.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 63,375 shares in the company, valued at $566,572.50. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,058 shares of company stock worth $697,839. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Kura Oncology during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kura Oncology in the first quarter worth about $66,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Kura Oncology in the first quarter valued at about $79,000. Flower City Capital acquired a new stake in Kura Oncology during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 471.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,071 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

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.

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