Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Stock Price Up 9.7% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Stock jumped 9.7% to about $9.80 on Friday (high $9.81), though trading volume was down roughly 60% versus the average session (578,462 vs. 1,441,034 shares).
• Analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a consensus target of $26.38 (10 Buys, 2 Holds, 1 Sell), but individual price targets vary and some firms have recently trimmed forecasts.
• Kura missed quarterly estimates—EPS ($0.92) vs. ($0.72) expected and revenue $17.3M vs. $34.7M—producing large negative margins, yet the company reports strong liquidity (quick/current ratios ≈6) and low debt-to-equity (0.06); insiders have reduced positions and now own 6.4%.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 9.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.81 and last traded at $9.8030. 578,462 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 1,441,034 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital began coverage on Kura Oncology in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Kura Oncology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $857.63 million, a PE ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 6.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.50.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $17.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.71 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 412.95% and a negative return on equity of 102.59%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 11,208 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total transaction of $94,819.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 226,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,919,836.26. This represents a 4.71% 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total value of $54,262.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 183,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,550,506.50. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 36,068 shares of company stock worth $305,135 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Kura Oncology by 115.3% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 392.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,146 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,732 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Kura Oncology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000.

About Kura Oncology

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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