StockNews.com Upgrades Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

KURA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Kura Oncology to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Kura Oncology from $27.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KURA opened at $7.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.18. The company has a market cap of $576.59 million, a P/E ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 11.47 and a current ratio of 11.47. Kura Oncology has a one year low of $6.79 and a one year high of $23.48.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.96 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 4,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.87, for a total transaction of $39,058.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,551.11. This represents a 5.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 4,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.87, for a total transaction of $38,948.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 88,193 shares in the company, valued at $694,078.91. This represents a 5.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,729 shares of company stock worth $92,307. 5.50% 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 the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Kura Oncology by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Kura Oncology by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kura Oncology by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776 shares during the last quarter.

About Kura Oncology

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.