Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.28 EPS

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($0.28), Zacks reports.

Kura Oncology Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of KURA stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.93. 996,688 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,547,355. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.23. Kura Oncology has a 12-month low of $5.41 and a 12-month high of $19.73. The stock has a market cap of $861.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.34 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 6.16, a current ratio of 6.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,892 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $61,614.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 63,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,572.50. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 8,891 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $79,485.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $891,103.44. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,058 shares of company stock valued at $697,839. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 471.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 1st quarter valued at $143,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter valued at $157,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Kura Oncology by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 30,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 2,976 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kura Oncology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, October 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.67.

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.