Last Update 06 Nov 25
Fair value Increased 0.67%KURA: Upcoming FDA Decision Will Drive Momentum in Oncology Portfolio
Kura Oncology's fair value price target saw a modest increase from $27.00 to $27.18. Analysts cited updated financial metrics and maintained a cautious outlook following recent peer research coverage.
Analyst Commentary
Recent analyst coverage on Kura Oncology presents a balanced outlook, reflecting both optimism for the company's future and reservations regarding its execution and market position.
Bullish Takeaways- Bullish analysts highlight Kura Oncology's promising pipeline of oncology therapies. They suggest potential for meaningful long-term growth if key assets continue to advance through clinical development.
- The company's recent financial updates point to solid cash reserves, supporting ongoing research activities and helping to mitigate near-term funding concerns.
- Improved transparency in reporting and management guidance have increased confidence in the company’s ability to execute on operational milestones.
- Kura's targeted approach within the oncology sector is seen as a strategic advantage for eventual market differentiation and partnership opportunities.
- Bearish analysts contend that limited near-term catalysts may dampen investor enthusiasm until pivotal clinical trial results are released.
- There are ongoing concerns surrounding the highly competitive nature of the oncology market, which could challenge Kura’s ability to capture sustainable market share.
- Questions remain about the company’s execution risk, particularly regarding the timely progression of its lead candidates through regulatory milestones.
- The modest increase in the fair value estimate reflects caution, as analysts await more substantial data or strategic moves to support a more definitive growth outlook.
What's in the News
- Kura Oncology announced receipt of a $30 million milestone payment from Kyowa Kirin for first patient dosing in the second Phase 3 KOMET-017 trial of ziftomenib, an investigational oral menin inhibitor (Key Developments).
- The company has now received $105 million in milestone payments under the Kyowa Kirin collaboration and expects up to $315 million in additional, near-term payments (Key Developments).
- Preliminary clinical data from the ESMO 2025 Congress show encouraging antitumor activity and manageable safety profiles for Kura's farnesyl transferase inhibitor programs, darlifarnib and tipifarnib, in advanced solid tumors (Key Developments).
- The Journal of Clinical Oncology published full results from Kura's pivotal KOMET-001 Phase 2 trial. Ziftomenib met its primary endpoint in relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutated AML, and the therapy is now under priority review by the FDA with a target action date of November 30, 2025 (Key Developments).
- Kura and Kyowa Kirin dosed the first patient in a new KOMET-007 trial cohort. This trial combines ziftomenib with other therapies for newly diagnosed AML and reflects further expansion of their menin inhibitor clinical program (Key Developments).
Valuation Changes
- Consensus Analyst Price Target increased slightly from $27.00 to $27.18, reflecting a minor revision upward.
- Discount Rate rose moderately from 6.78% to 6.84%, indicating a marginal increase in perceived market risk.
- Revenue Growth estimate fell significantly, decreasing from 73.5% to 63.3%.
- Net Profit Margin projection edged up from 16.06% to 16.28%.
- Future P/E ratio forecast declined from 49.89x to 48.11x, pointing to a slightly lower valuation multiple.
Key Takeaways
- Anticipated drug approvals and a diverse pipeline in high-need oncology segments set the stage for accelerated revenue growth and market expansion.
- Strategic partnerships and industry trends support strong financial positioning, reduced risk, and sustainable long-term earnings potential.
- Reliance on successful drug development amid mounting losses, regulatory uncertainty, strong competition, and funding constraints threatens future market access, profitability, and shareholder value.
Catalysts
About Kura Oncology- A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for the treatment of cancer.
- The expected FDA approval and commercial launch of ziftomenib for relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutant AML, along with positive priority review signals and strong KOL feedback, could drive rapid revenue growth and early market share capture in a high unmet need segment.
- The ongoing initiation of two Phase III frontline AML trials (KOMET-017), leveraging accelerated approval pathways and trial efficiencies, positions Kura to potentially expand its addressable market to over $7 billion annually-substantially improving long-term revenue and earnings prospects if successful.
- Kura's expanding pipeline, including next-generation farnesyl transferase inhibitors and menin inhibitors for broader indications (GIST, diabetes, solid tumors), provides multiple shots on goal that diversify risk and could result in future revenue streams and margin expansion.
- The company's strategic partnership with Kyowa Kirin enables non-dilutive funding through milestone payments (up to $375M near-term milestones), supports commercial scale-up, and eases financing risks, collectively improving cash burn rates and potential net margins.
- Secular factors such as the rising global cancer incidence, the shift toward precision, targeted therapies (areas Kura is focused on), and faster, biomarker-driven drug approval processes, are expanding demand for innovative oncology solutions, anchoring sustainable long-term revenue growth as Kura's therapies come to market.
Kura Oncology Future Earnings and Revenue Growth
Assumptions
How have these above catalysts been quantified?- Analysts are assuming Kura Oncology's revenue will grow by 73.5% annually over the next 3 years.
- Analysts are not forecasting that Kura Oncology will become profitable in next 3 years. To represent the Analyst Price Target as a Future PE Valuation we will estimate Kura Oncology's profit margin will increase from -236.8% to the average US Biotechs industry of 16.1% in 3 years.
- If Kura Oncology's profit margin were to converge on the industry average, you could expect earnings to reach $69.8 million (and earnings per share of $0.66) by about September 2028, up from $-197.2 million today. However, there is a considerable amount of disagreement amongst the analysts with the most bullish expecting $259.1 million in earnings, and the most bearish expecting $-459.4 million.
- In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 49.9x on those 2028 earnings, up from -3.7x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Biotechs industry at 15.5x.
- Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 7.0% per year for the next 3 years.
- To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.78%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.
Kura Oncology Future Earnings Per Share Growth
Risks
What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?- Kura Oncology remains pre-revenue with increasing net losses ($66.1M in Q2 2025 vs. $50.8M in Q2 2024) and a rapidly declining cash position ($630.7M as of June 2025 vs. $727.4M at end-2024), meaning delays in product approvals or commercialization could necessitate dilutive fundraising, directly impacting earnings per share and shareholder value.
- The company faces significant clinical development risk, as lead candidate ziftomenib awaits its first FDA approval (with a PDUFA date of Nov 2025) and is still enrolling pivotal Phase III trials for frontline AML-any clinical failure or regulatory delay would materially impact anticipated revenue growth and prolong unprofitable operations.
- Heightened competition, particularly from larger, better-resourced players like Janssen (J&J) with a menin inhibitor already in Phase III for similar AML populations, could erode Kura's potential future market share and pricing power, materially limiting long-term revenue and net margin expansion.
- Payer resistance to covering expensive novel therapies-especially as healthcare cost containment and regulatory scrutiny on drug pricing intensifies-could restrict market access and result in downward pressure on expected revenues and gross margins for Kura's prospective products.
- Ongoing reliance on milestone payments from collaborations (e.g., Kyowa Kirin agreement) introduces uncertainty to financial planning, and any underperformance in achieving these milestones, along with tightening capital markets, could constrain available funding for clinical development, increasing financial risk and impeding future earnings growth.
Valuation
How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?- The analysts have a consensus price target of $27.0 for Kura Oncology based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $40.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $11.0.
- In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $434.8 million, earnings will come to $69.8 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 49.9x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.8%.
- Given the current share price of $8.43, the analyst price target of $27.0 is 68.8% higher.
- We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.
How well do narratives help inform your perspective?
Disclaimer
AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.


