Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,310,507 shares, an increase of 37.5% from the December 15th total of 8,223,035 shares. Approximately 13.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,786,858 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,786,858 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days. Approximately 13.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

KURA stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $8.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,300,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,427. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.92. Kura Oncology has a 52-week low of $5.41 and a 52-week high of $12.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $736.19 million, a PE ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.25.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.48 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KURA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up previously from $11.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Leerink Partners set a $20.00 price objective on Kura Oncology and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, November 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In other news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 8,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $98,428.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 188,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,103,394.02. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian T. Powl sold 8,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $99,356.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,689 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,723.02. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,343 shares of company stock worth $730,858. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,468,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,396,000 after acquiring an additional 120,197 shares during the period. EcoR1 Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 4,200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559,702 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kura Oncology by 101.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,224,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,688,000 after buying an additional 1,121,228 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kura Oncology by 11.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,014,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,623,000 after buying an additional 211,470 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 63.0% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,911,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,032,000 after buying an additional 738,761 shares in the last quarter.

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.