StockNews.com Upgrades Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) to “Buy”

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Kura Oncology to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Kura Oncology from $18.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $27.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Kura Oncology Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ KURA traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.14. The stock had a trading volume of 748,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,409. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.18. The company has a market capitalization of $576.59 million, a PE ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 11.47 and a quick ratio of 11.47. Kura Oncology has a 12 month low of $6.79 and a 12 month high of $23.48.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas James Doyle sold 4,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.87, for a total transaction of $38,948.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 88,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,078.91. This represents a 5.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mollie Leoni sold 4,963 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.87, for a total value of $39,058.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,551.11. The trade was a 5.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,729 shares of company stock valued at $92,307. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KURA. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 29,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kura Oncology during the third quarter valued at $298,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kura Oncology by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 624,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,212,000 after buying an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Kura Oncology in the 3rd quarter worth about $596,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Kura Oncology by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 86,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 17,913 shares during the last quarter.

About Kura Oncology

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.