Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on KURA. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, November 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.00.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

Shares of KURA stock opened at $8.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. The firm has a market cap of $758.81 million, a P/E ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.96. Kura Oncology has a one year low of $5.41 and a one year high of $12.49.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $20.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.48 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In other news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 15,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $173,122.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 225,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,575.72. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 8,887 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total transaction of $99,356.66. Following the sale, the insider owned 139,689 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,723.02. This represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,343 shares of company stock worth $730,858. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KURA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,072 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Kura Oncology by 471.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Kura Oncology during the 3rd quarter worth $89,000.

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.