Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) Short Interest Up 37.5% in December

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,310,507 shares, a growth of 37.5% from the December 15th total of 8,223,035 shares. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,786,858 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,786,858 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KURA. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, December 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kura Oncology from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $20.00 target price on Kura Oncology and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 8,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total transaction of $98,428.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 188,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,103,394.02. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total transaction of $77,164.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,178,070.14. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,343 shares of company stock worth $730,858. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 392.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 127.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology in the third quarter valued at $89,000. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the third quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kura Oncology by 222.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 7,189 shares in the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

Shares of KURA traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,300,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,427. The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Kura Oncology has a 1-year low of $5.41 and a 1-year high of $12.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.19 million, a P/E ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.88.

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

Kura Oncology Company Profile

Kura Oncology, Inc (NASDAQ: KURA) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of targeted oncology therapies. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, the company leverages expertise in molecular biology and precision medicine to identify key drivers of cancer growth and design small-molecule inhibitors that block those pathways. Kura’s research platform integrates genomic insights with medicinal chemistry to advance candidates against well-validated targets in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

The company’s lead clinical candidate, tipifarnib, is a farnesyltransferase inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of HRAS-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and various non-small cell lung cancers.