Kura Oncology Stock Slips Following Collaboration With Kyowa: Retail Turns Extremely Bullish

Shares of Kura Oncology Inc. ($KURA), a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on cancer therapies, fell 37% by Thursday noon following a collaboration with Japan’s Kyowa Kirin, but retail sentiment remained strong.

Kura said it has entered into a global strategic collaboration with Kyowa Kirin to develop and commercialize its blood cancer-focused therapy Ziftomenib. The therapy is an “oral menin inhibitor being investigated for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematologic malignancies,” according to a company statement. Acute myeloid leukemia affects about 20,000 people in the US every year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kura will receive an upfront payment of $330 million and expects to receive up to $420 million in near-term milestone payments, said the statement.

In addition, Kura is eligible to receive additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of $741 million, totaling up to $1.161 billion in payments for milestones and the opt-in for solid tumor indications.

Retail sentiment on the stock rose to ‘extremely bullish’ (92/100) from ‘neutral’ (52/100) a week ago. Message volumes rose to ‘extremely high’ levels (85/100) from ‘normal’ (53/100).

KURA sentiment and message volumes on Nov 21 as of 11:43 am ET| Source: Stocktwits

“The deal provides a certain level of valuation," Mizuho Securities analyst Salim Syed was quoted as saying by Investor’s Business Daily. "However, on the other hand, a collaboration here likely detracts from the near-term potential takeout narrative, which certainly has been something some investors had been articulating."

KURA stock is up 35.35% year-to-date.