Analysts Set Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Price Target at $4.67

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.6667.

AKBA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.40. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.82 and a 52-week high of $3.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.28. The firm has a market cap of $327.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.25 and a beta of 0.23.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). Akebia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.72% and a negative net margin of 8.83%.The firm had revenue of $53.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.67 million. Equities analysts predict that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total value of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 616,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,443.76. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in 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. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC lifted its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 18,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 59,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.