Kura Oncology's (KURA) "Market Outperform" Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

Key Points

• JMP Securities has reaffirmed Kura Oncology's stock rating as "market outperform" with a price target of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 145.65% from its previous close.
• Kura Oncology's stock has seen mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.67, despite recent downgrades by Zacks Research.
• Recent insider activity includes significant stock sales by COO Kathleen Ford and SVP Thomas James Doyle, which could indicate caution among company executives as they reduce their holdings.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at JMP Securities in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $24.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities' price objective points to a potential upside of 145.65% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on KURA. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Kura Oncology from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.67.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

Shares of KURA stock opened at $9.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $848.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.90. Kura Oncology has a 12-month low of $5.41 and a 12-month high of $19.73. The company has a current ratio of 6.16, a quick ratio of 6.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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 firm had revenue of $15.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.95 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In related news, COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,892 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $61,614.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 63,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,572.50. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 4,541 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $40,596.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 109,829 shares in the company, valued at $981,871.26. The trade was a 3.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,058 shares of company stock valued at $697,839. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KURA. BVF Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 202.0% during the first quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 7,754,129 shares of the company's stock worth $51,177,000 after purchasing an additional 5,186,660 shares in the last quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.1% during the second quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 4,200,000 shares of the company's stock worth $24,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559,702 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 13.3% during the first quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 6,572,000 shares of the company's stock worth $43,375,000 after purchasing an additional 772,000 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 63.0% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,911,886 shares of the company's stock worth $11,032,000 after purchasing an additional 738,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 610,604 shares in the last quarter.

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.

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