Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.60.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total value of $68,838.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caption Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA opened at $1.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.15. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $4.08. The firm has a market cap of $321.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.28 and a beta of 0.38.

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.