Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research lowered Kura Oncology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Kura Oncology from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ KURA traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $7.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,021,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,433. The company has a current ratio of 11.47, a quick ratio of 11.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $592.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $7.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.65. Kura Oncology has a 52-week low of $6.79 and a 52-week high of $23.48.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by $0.43. The company had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.96 million. Analysts expect that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kura Oncology news, insider Mollie Leoni sold 4,963 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 $39,058.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,551.11. This trade represents a 5.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $38,948.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 88,193 shares in the company, valued at $694,078.91. This represents a 5.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,729 shares of company stock valued at $92,307. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 2,776 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.