Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Posts Earnings Results

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 102.59% and a negative net margin of 412.95%.The firm had revenue of $18.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.97 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Kura Oncology’s conference call:

• KOMZIFTI delivered a strong first full quarter of launch, with $5.8 million in net product revenue, 85 new patient starts, and nearly 160 total prescriptions.
• Management said early launch trends show repeat prescribing, broad account uptake, and some physician switching from other menin inhibitors, suggesting KOMZIFTI is beginning to differentiate in the market.
• Access is off to a strong start, with coverage at parity or better for more than 93% of covered lives and favorable formulary positioning for more than 12 million lives.
• Clinical development remains on track, with KOMET-017 enrolling ahead of plan and multiple near-term data readouts expected this year, including updates at EHA and ASCO.
• The company ended the quarter with $580.8 million in cash and short-term investments and reiterated that this, along with expected Kyowa Kirin collaboration payments, should fund the AML program through the first KOMET-017 top-line results anticipated in 2028.

Kura Oncology Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:KURA opened at $9.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $859.20 million, a PE ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 0.32. Kura Oncology has a fifty-two week low of $5.45 and a fifty-two week high of $12.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 6.06 and a quick ratio of 6.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Kura Oncology by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Kura Oncology in the first quarter worth $143,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Kura Oncology by 35.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 72,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 18,930 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Kura Oncology by 13.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 118,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 13,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Kura Oncology by 244.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 232,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 165,189 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KURA. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kura Oncology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $20.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.38.

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.