Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Trading Up 7.9% – Here’s Why

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) shares were up 7.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $9.49 and last traded at $9.6660. Approximately 1,227,656 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 1,420,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on KURA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on Kura Oncology in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.38.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 2.7%

The company has a current ratio of 6.15, a quick ratio of 6.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -3.40 and a beta of 0.32.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $18.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.97 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 141.95% and a negative net margin of 411.19%. Analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 115.3% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 392.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kura Oncology in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

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.