Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) COO Kathleen Ford Sells 6,906 Shares of Stock

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) COO Kathleen Ford sold 6,906 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total value of $72,513.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 146,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,539,867. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Kathleen Ford also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 29th, Kathleen Ford sold 3,668 shares of Kura Oncology stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $39,431.00.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KURA traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.81. 1,890,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,937. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 4.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $961.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.15. Kura Oncology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.36 and a twelve month high of $13.90.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $20.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 384.30% and a negative return on equity of 207.18%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KURA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price target on Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price objective on Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, CLSA set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kura Oncology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Kura Oncology by 115.3% in 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kura Oncology by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,888 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the second quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kura Oncology in the second quarter valued at approximately $132,000.

Key Stories Impacting Kura Oncology

Here are the key news stories impacting Kura Oncology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KO-7246 regenerated functional pancreatic beta-cell mass and improved glycemic control in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes models. Benefits persisted for at least one month after treatment stopped in a Type 1 diabetes model, suggesting potential disease-modifying activity. KO-7246 EASD announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The candidate increased beta-cell mass, endogenous insulin and C-peptide levels, and showed enhanced activity when combined with semaglutide. Results in human pancreatic islets also indicated selective beta-cell proliferation and improved glucose-responsive insulin secretion, strengthening the potential commercial value of Kura’s menin-inhibitor platform. KO-7246 preclinical data
• Neutral Sentiment: KO-7246 remains preclinical. Caspian plans IND-enabling work and a future Phase 1 study, with management scheduled to discuss the program on October 13. Any valuation benefit for KURA therefore depends on future clinical progress and the terms of Kura’s relationship with Caspian. Caspian and Kura KO-7246 report
• Negative Sentiment: Several Kura executives and insiders sold shares on September 28–29, including Mollie Leoni, Brian Powl, Kathleen Ford, Thomas Doyle and Teresa Bair. The transactions totaled approximately 97,000 shares and more than $1 million, signaling near-term insider selling pressure even though the sellers retained substantial holdings. Kura insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: The diabetes opportunity carries substantial execution risk, including potential clinical or regulatory setbacks, unexpected safety findings and the need for additional financing before human trials can begin.

Kura Oncology Company Profile

Kura Oncology, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company’s research programs target specific genetic and molecular abnormalities that contribute to tumor growth, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and selected solid tumors.

Kura’s leading program has been ziftomenib, an oral, selective menin inhibitor being developed for genetically defined forms of acute myeloid leukemia, including cancers with NPM1 mutations or certain KMT2A rearrangements.