Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Gap Up to $17.53

Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.53, but opened at $18.33. Kura Oncology shares last traded at $18.12, with a volume of 196,870 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kura Oncology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Kura Oncology Stock Up 3.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 12.26 and a current ratio of 12.26. The business's fifty day moving average price is $20.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.35.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.49) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson sold 91,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.23, for a total value of $1,841,981.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,308.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Troy Edward Wilson sold 91,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.23, for a total value of $1,841,981.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,308.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 2,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $41,260.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $856,055.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,919 shares of company stock worth $1,946,415. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KURA. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its position in Kura Oncology by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 4,374,044 shares of the company's stock worth $39,891,000 after buying an additional 1,136,044 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 7,373,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,027,000 after purchasing an additional 642,245 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,695,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,924,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,791,000 after purchasing an additional 275,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,001,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,785,000 after purchasing an additional 197,530 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.