Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 120,014 Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. $KURA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,145,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,014 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.32% of Kura Oncology worth $11,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KURA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 115,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 24,252 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in Kura Oncology by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 21,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kura Oncology by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,224,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,228 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Kura Oncology in the 3rd quarter valued at $188,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,105,000.

Kura Oncology Stock Down 7.4%

Kura Oncology stock opened at $7.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $683.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.47. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.41 and a 1-year high of $12.49. The company has a current ratio of 6.06, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.20). Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 102.59% and a negative net margin of 412.95%.The business had revenue of $17.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.71 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on KURA. Leerink Partners set a $20.00 price target on Kura Oncology and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kura Oncology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Kura Oncology from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kura Oncology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 7,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total value of $60,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 145,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,112.82. This represents a 4.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 11,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total value of $94,819.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 226,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,919,836.26. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,068 shares of company stock worth $305,135. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

About Kura Oncology

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.