Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Down 4.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Kura Oncology's stock declined by 4.1%, trading between $8.52 and $8.47, with trading volume dropping by 86% compared to average levels.
• Wall Street analysts have rated the stock with one Strong Buy, ten Buy, and four Hold ratings, averaging a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $24.10.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed a loss of ($0.75) EPS, significantly missing projections, with actual revenues at $15.29 million compared to expectations of $64.95 million.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.52 and last traded at $8.47. Approximately 200,744 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,472,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on KURA shares. JMP Securities reduced their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Guggenheim started coverage on Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.10.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 0.3%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 6.16 and a current ratio of 6.16. The firm has a market cap of $726.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.72 and a beta of 0.19.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.95 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kura Oncology

In related news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson purchased 50,000 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.20 per share, for a total transaction of $410,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $827,937.60. This represents a 98.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 471.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter valued at about $669,000. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 234.7% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 522,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,014,000 after purchasing an additional 366,324 shares in the last quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 4,200,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 62,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter.

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.