Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) Short Interest Up 37.5% in December

Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,310,507 shares, a growth of 37.5% from the December 15th total of 8,223,035 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,786,858 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,786,858 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kura Oncology

In related news, insider Francis Burrows sold 23,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.78, for a total transaction of $232,040.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,928.30. This trade represents a 41.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mollie Leoni sold 15,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.18, for a total value of $173,122.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 225,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,575.72. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,343 shares of company stock valued at $730,858. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KURA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 37.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,265,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,196,000 after buying an additional 345,951 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Kura Oncology by 169.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 35,779 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kura Oncology during the 2nd quarter worth $450,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kura Oncology by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,014,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,623,000 after acquiring an additional 211,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Kura Oncology by 185.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 118,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 76,957 shares during the last quarter.

Kura Oncology Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:KURA traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.46. 2,300,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,356,427. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.88. The firm has a market cap of $736.19 million, a P/E ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. Kura Oncology has a 52-week low of $5.41 and a 52-week high of $12.49.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $20.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.48 million. Kura Oncology had a negative net margin of 208.48% and a negative return on equity of 65.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kura Oncology will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KURA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners set a $20.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Kura Oncology in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.00.

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.