Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KURA. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, October 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, October 20th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.67.

Kura Oncology Stock Down 3.0%

Kura Oncology stock opened at $9.86 on Wednesday. Kura Oncology has a twelve month low of $5.41 and a twelve month high of $19.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 6.16 and a current ratio of 5.12. The firm has a market cap of $858.02 million, a PE ratio of -3.98 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.33.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by ($0.28). Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 208.48% and a negative return on equity of 65.42%. The company had revenue of $20.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.48 million. On average, research analysts predict that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 12,314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $110,087.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 158,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,416,444.66. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $61,614.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 63,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $566,572.50. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,058 shares of company stock worth $697,839. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Kura Oncology by 127.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Kura Oncology by 471.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 32.2% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology in the 1st quarter valued at $79,000.

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.