Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Earnings miss and stock reaction: Kura reported Q EPS of -$0.92 versus analyst expectations of -$0.42 and revenue of $17.34 million versus a $34.71 million estimate, and the stock gapped down pre-market (prior close $8.55, opened $7.93).
• Mixed analyst outlook but bullish average target: Nine analysts rate the stock a Buy, two Hold and one Sell, giving Kura an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.00.
• Insider sales and institutional flows: Insiders sold about 59,794 shares (~$537,176) in the past three months (insiders own 6.4%), while several institutions including Invesco, Virtu and Voloridge added or initiated positions.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $8.55, but opened at $7.93. Kura Oncology shares last traded at $8.32, with a volume of 1,152,847 shares.

The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $17.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.71 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 65.42% and a negative net margin of 208.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on KURA shares. Zacks Research upgraded Kura Oncology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Leerink Partners set a $20.00 price objective on Kura Oncology and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In other Kura Oncology news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 8,180 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 $69,202.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 267,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,261,138.04. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 6,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total transaction of $54,262.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 183,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,550,506.50. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,794 shares of company stock valued at $537,176. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 4th quarter worth about $349,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 209,370 shares of the company's stock worth $2,175,000 after buying an additional 26,683 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Kura Oncology by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kura Oncology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,505,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 291.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the company's stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 49,785 shares in the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.39. The company has a market capitalization of $717.90 million, a PE ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12.

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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