Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.25.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of AKBA opened at $1.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $377.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.14 and a 12 month high of $4.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.77.

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

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CEO John P. Butler acquired 69,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $86,587.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,367,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,830. This represents a 2.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% in the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 59,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 8,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.