BTIG Research Has Lowered Expectations for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Price

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at BTIG Research from $10.00 to $5.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 138.10% from the stock’s previous close.

AKBA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.00.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AKBA opened at $2.10 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $556.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.35 and a beta of 0.68. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.52 and a 52-week high of $4.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $99,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $2,880,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $4,772,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 28.5% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,579,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after acquiring an additional 350,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.