HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by HC Wainwright in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 331.65% from the company’s current price. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Akebia Therapeutics’ Q2 2026 earnings at $0.02 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.03 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.05 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.12 EPS, FY2029 earnings at $0.30 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $0.44 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.60.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $368.86 million, a P/E ratio of -19.85 and a beta of 0.38. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.30 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.51 and its 200 day moving average is $2.34.

Insider Transactions at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total transaction of $68,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares during the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC bought a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 2,018,547 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 1,324.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,916,692 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,233,000 after buying an additional 1,782,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Akebia Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “Buy” rating and maintained a $6.00 price target on AKBA, reinforcing a bullish analyst view and signaling continued confidence in Akebia’s longer‑term prospects. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data reported for early February looks inconsistent (shows a large increase but lists 0 shares), suggesting reporting noise rather than a clear change in shorting pressure; treat this item as unreliable until clarified by exchanges or the reporting agent.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut multiple near‑term and medium‑term EPS estimates for AKBA (Q2, Q3, Q4 2026 and FY2026, FY2029, FY2030 revisions were published), lowering FY2026 EPS to $0.12 from $0.19 and trimming later-year forecasts — a concrete downgrade to earnings expectations that can weigh on the stock until results or guidance prove otherwise. The firm nevertheless kept its Buy rating and $6 target. MarketBeat AKBA report
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler reduced its price target on AKBA from $6.00 to $4.00 while maintaining an “overweight” stance — a lowered target compresses analyst‑implied upside and may sap some bullish momentum among investors who follow institutional price targets. Benzinga

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with kidney disease. The company’s lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis patients. Akebia’s research and development efforts also extend to preclinical programs targeting nephrology and related metabolic disorders.

Since its founding in 2007, Akebia has pursued strategic collaborations to advance its clinical pipeline and expand its market reach.