Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Insider Buying Activity

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $12.85 and last traded at $12.58, with a volume of 873348 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.28.

Specifically, CEO Troy Edward Wilson acquired 100,000 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.12 per share, with a total value of $1,112,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 379,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,216,637.28. This trade represents a 35.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Oppenheimer set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, June 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kura Oncology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.62.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a current ratio of 4.73. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.36.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $20.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 207.18% and a negative net margin of 384.30%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 115.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period.

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.