Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Up 9.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kura Oncology shares rose 9.6% to about $10.26, although trading volume was 81% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 11 analysts rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $25.35 price target, substantially above the current price.
• The company remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly loss of $0.77 per share and a negative net margin of 384.3%; meanwhile, insiders sold 153,881 shares worth about $1.7 million in the last quarter.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) rose 9.6% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $10.11 and last traded at $10.26. 325,621 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,670,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KURA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.35.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 5.6%

The company has a current ratio of 4.73, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $879.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.35.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $20.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 384.30% and a negative return on equity of 207.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 28,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $309,621.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 141,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,516,771.25. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 17,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.53, for a total value of $179,220.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 152,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,181.97. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 153,881 shares of company stock valued at $1,708,183 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KURA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Kura Oncology during the second quarter valued at about $115,286,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,735,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 32.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,425,945 shares of the company's stock worth $11,591,000 after purchasing an additional 348,127 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kura Oncology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,927,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE grew its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 89.6% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 857,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,971,000 after purchasing an additional 405,229 shares during the last quarter.

About Kura Oncology

Kura Oncology, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company uses molecular and genomic insights to identify therapies designed to target specific biological drivers of tumor growth.

Kura's lead program is ziftomenib, an oral menin inhibitor developed for genetically defined forms of acute myeloid leukemia, including disease associated with NPM1 mutations and KMT2A rearrangements. The company has also evaluated additional targeted oncology candidates, including therapies directed at the RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Kura has conducted clinical development activities through research collaborations and studies involving patients and institutions in the United States and other regions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.