Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Receives $5.40 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.40.

Several analysts have issued reports on AKBA shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Performance

AKBA opened at $1.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $375.03 million, a PE ratio of -69.97 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.89. Akebia Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.14 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. The company had revenue of $57.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.37 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total transaction of $68,838.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,152.10. The trade was a 14.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John P. Butler bought 69,270 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,367,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,208,830. This represents a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 20,499 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Akebia Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.