Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) Trading 5% Higher After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) traded up 5% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $12.33 and last traded at $12.4860. Approximately 515,751 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,605,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.89.

Specifically, CEO Troy Edward Wilson bought 100,000 shares of Kura Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $1,239,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,937,213.66. The trade was a 26.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KURA. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kura Oncology in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 target price on Kura Oncology in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kura Oncology in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kura Oncology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Ten equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Kura Oncology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.40.

Key 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 Up 9.6%

The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.03 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.67 and a 200 day moving average of $9.54. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 4.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Kura Oncology (NASDAQ:KURA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $20.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.16 million. Kura Oncology had a negative return on equity of 207.18% and a negative net margin of 384.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kura Oncology, Inc. will post -3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Oncology

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased 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 buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Kura Oncology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in Kura Oncology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000.

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.