Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Receives "Outperform" Rating from Wedbush

Key Points

• Kura Oncology's stock has been reaffirmed with an "outperform" rating by Wedbush, with a price target of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 266.41% from its previous close.
• The company reported a substantial earnings miss with an EPS of ($0.75), significantly below analysts' expectations of $0.15 for the quarter.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Troy Edward Wilson increasing his stake by purchasing 50,000 shares at an average cost of $8.20, indicating confidence in the company's future performance.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Wedbush in a research note issued on Monday,RTT News reports. They currently have a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 266.41% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on KURA. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.67.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

KURA traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $9.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,825,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,508,264. Kura Oncology has a fifty-two week low of $5.41 and a fifty-two week high of $19.73. The stock has a market cap of $852.81 million, a P/E ratio of -4.34 and a beta of 0.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.37 and its 200 day moving average is $6.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 6.16 and a current ratio of 6.16.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $15.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.95 million. As a group, analysts predict that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kura Oncology

In other Kura Oncology news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.20 per share, for a total transaction of $410,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,968 shares in the company, valued at $827,937.60. The trade was a 98.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mollie Leoni sold 12,314 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $110,087.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 158,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,444.66. This trade represents a 7.21% 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 Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter worth $139,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 57.9% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,544,113 shares of the company's stock worth $10,191,000 after buying an additional 566,193 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 26.5% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 54,491 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 11,406 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter worth $2,180,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 407.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 760,332 shares of the company's stock worth $5,018,000 after buying an additional 610,604 shares during the period.

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.

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