Insider Selling: Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Insider Sells 12,448 Shares of Company Stock

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) insider Mollie Leoni sold 12,448 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total transaction of $130,704.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,783,918.50. The trade was a 6.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Mollie Leoni also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 29th, Mollie Leoni sold 28,802 shares of Kura Oncology stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total transaction of $309,621.50.

Kura Oncology Price Performance

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

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $20.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KURA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday, June 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.40.

Institutional Trading of Kura Oncology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Kura Oncology by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Kura Oncology by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology in the second quarter valued at $113,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new stake in shares of Kura Oncology in the 1st quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth about $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.

About Kura Oncology

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.