Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Kura Oncology's shares experienced a significant gap up, opening at $8.62 after an insider, CEO Troy Edward Wilson, purchased 50,000 shares, increasing his ownership by 98.10%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Kura Oncology, with targets ranging from $24.10 to $36.00, citing an average rating of "Moderate Buy" among the analysts surveyed.
• The company reported disappointing earnings, with a loss of ($0.75) EPS for the last quarter, which was below expectations, alongside revenue of only $15.29 million against a forecast of $64.95 million.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $8.01, but opened at $8.62. Kura Oncology shares last traded at $8.36, with a volume of 819,759 shares.

Specifically, CEO Troy Edward Wilson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.20 per share, with a total value of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,968 shares in the company, valued at $827,937.60. The trade was a 98.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KURA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Guggenheim began coverage on Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on Kura Oncology from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.10.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.57. The stock has a market cap of $709.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.62 and a beta of 0.19. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $15.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.95 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KURA. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kura Oncology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 969.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 163,559 shares of the company's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 148,272 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 64,623 shares of the company's stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 21,135 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,031 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 180.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,367,148 shares of the company's stock worth $20,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,954 shares during the period.

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.