Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Trading Up 5% Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) rose 5% during trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $12.33 and last traded at $12.4860. Approximately 515,751 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,605,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.89.

Specifically, CEO Troy Edward Wilson bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $1,239,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 479,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,937,213.66. This trade represents a 26.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on KURA shares. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price objective on Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Kura Oncology from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.40.

More Kura Oncology News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO makes sizable purchase: Chief Executive Officer Troy Edward Wilson bought 100,000 shares for approximately $1.24 million at an average price of $12.39. The purchase increased his direct stake by 26.37%, a potentially confidence-building signal for investors. SEC insider purchase filing
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a “Market Outperform” rating and set a $24 price target. That target implies substantial upside from the referenced trading level. Overall, analysts tracked in the report assign KURA a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target of $25.40. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional accumulation: California State Teachers’ Retirement System increased its position by 968% during the second quarter, while several other institutions initiated or expanded holdings. This may be supporting investor sentiment toward the clinical-stage oncology company.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data is inconclusive: The report lists short interest at zero shares on both August 10 and August 25, alongside an invalid “NaN” change. Consequently, it does not provide a reliable signal about short-covering or bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed: Insider Brian Powl sold 4,345 shares for approximately $51,662 at an average price of $11.89, reducing his holdings by 2.5%. The sale is relatively small compared with the CEO’s purchase but could temper the positive insider-trading signal. KURA insider sale report

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.03 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 4.73, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.54.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 384.30% and a negative return on equity of 207.18%. Analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KURA. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 115.3% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Kura Oncology by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 471.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kura Oncology during the second quarter worth about $80,000.

About Kura Oncology

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.