Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) saw strong trading volume on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $16.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. 2,223,966 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 1,575,466 shares.The stock last traded at $12.3630 and had previously closed at $10.68.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kura Oncology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 8,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $78,716.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 148,043 shares in the company, valued at $1,323,504.42. This trade represents a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 8,891 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $79,485.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $891,103.44. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 122,675 shares of company stock worth $1,196,657. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BVF Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 202.0% during the 1st quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 7,754,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,177,000 after buying an additional 5,186,660 shares during the period. EcoR1 Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kura Oncology by 59.1% in the second quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 4,200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559,702 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 6,572,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,375,000 after acquiring an additional 772,000 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 63.0% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,911,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,032,000 after acquiring an additional 738,761 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 407.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 760,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,018,000 after acquiring an additional 610,604 shares during the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $974.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.52 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.48.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.48 million. Analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.