Analysts Set Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Price Target at $6.63

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.63.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Akebia Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $2.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $578.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.95. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.80 and a 12 month high of $2.89.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $46.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.36 million. Analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 50,506 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total transaction of $106,062.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 816,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,714,091.40. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 144,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.10, for a total value of $302,925.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,604,330 shares in the company, valued at $5,469,093. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 280,579 shares of company stock worth $589,216. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 207.2% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 38,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 25,900 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 17,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 45,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Akebia Therapeutics by 6.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,066 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 16,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 502,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 97,409 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company’s lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients.