Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $18.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.97 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 141.95% and a negative net margin of 411.19%.

Here are the key takeaways from Kura Oncology’s conference call:

• KOMZIFTI delivered a strong first full quarter of launch, with $5.8 million in net product revenue, 85 new patient starts, and nearly 160 total prescriptions.
• Management said early launch trends show repeat prescribing, broad account uptake, and some physician switching from other menin inhibitors, suggesting KOMZIFTI is beginning to differentiate in the market.
• Access is off to a strong start, with coverage at parity or better for more than 93% of covered lives and favorable formulary positioning for more than 12 million lives.
• Clinical development remains on track, with KOMET-017 enrolling ahead of plan and multiple near-term data readouts expected this year, including updates at EHA and ASCO.
• The company ended the quarter with $580.8 million in cash and short-term investments and reiterated that this, along with expected Kyowa Kirin collaboration payments, should fund the AML program through the first KOMET-017 top-line results anticipated in 2028.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

NASDAQ KURA traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.75. 1,714,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,554,896. The stock has a market capitalization of $777.09 million, a P/E ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 6.14, a current ratio of 6.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Kura Oncology has a 1 year low of $5.45 and a 1 year high of $12.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on KURA. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Kura Oncology from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KURA. State Street Corp increased its position in Kura Oncology by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,931,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,234,000 after buying an additional 1,587,959 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased 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 worth $19,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,228 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Kura Oncology by 111.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,830,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,020,000 after acquiring an additional 965,256 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,062,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,816,000 after purchasing an additional 820,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Kura Oncology by 63.0% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,911,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,032,000 after purchasing an additional 738,761 shares during the period.

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.