Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Shares Gap Up to $17.53

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.53, but opened at $18.33. Kura Oncology shares last traded at $18.12, with a volume of 196,870 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KURA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kura Oncology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Kura Oncology from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.28.

Kura Oncology Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 12.26 and a current ratio of 12.26.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.49) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kura Oncology

In other news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 2,053 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $36,543.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 68,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,826.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Teresa Brophy Bair sold 2,053 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $36,543.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 68,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,826.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Kathleen Ford sold 1,496 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $26,628.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 21,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $384,515.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,867 shares of company stock worth $104,433 in the last 90 days. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KURA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kura Oncology by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 261,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after buying an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 15,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Kura Oncology by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter.

About Kura Oncology

Kura Oncology, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company's pipeline consists of small molecule product candidates that target cancer. Its lead product candidates are ziftomenib, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of the menin-KMT2A interaction for the treatment of genetically defined subsets of acute leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia; tipifarnib, an orally bioavailable farnesyl transferase inhibitor combination with alpelisib for patients with PIK3CA-dependent HNSCC; and KO-2806, a farnesyl transferase inhibitor for the treatment of solid tumors.