Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Kura Oncology Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of Kura Oncology stock traded down $0.45 on Monday, reaching $8.46. 2,300,910 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,356,427. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.25. 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 fifty-two week low of $5.41 and a fifty-two week high of $12.49.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $17.48 million. On average, analysts expect that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KURA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, October 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian T. Powl sold 8,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $99,356.66. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 139,689 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,723.02. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 4,539 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $50,746.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,273.26. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 68,343 shares of company stock valued at $730,858 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 392.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kura Oncology by 127.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology in the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. Jain Global LLC purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology in the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 7,189 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.