Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Leerink Partners set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kura Oncology from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

KURA opened at $8.46 on Friday. Kura Oncology has a 12-month low of $5.41 and a 12-month high of $12.49. The stock has a market cap of $736.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.15 and a 200-day moving average of $9.26. The company has a quick ratio of 5.12, a current ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insider Transactions at Kura Oncology

In related news, insider Brian T. Powl sold 6,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total transaction of $54,262.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 183,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,506.50. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Francis Burrows sold 23,726 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.78, for a total transaction of $232,040.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,928.30. This represents a 41.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,794 shares of company stock valued at $537,176. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KURA. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Kura Oncology by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 392.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Kura Oncology by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kura Oncology in the third quarter worth approximately $89,000.

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.