Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 29th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

AKBA opened at $1.83 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.15 million, a P/E ratio of -6.54 and a beta of 0.78. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.49 and a 12 month high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The business had revenue of $56.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $78,101.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,128,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,576,523.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Akebia Therapeutics news, SVP Steven Keith Burke sold 24,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $40,842.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 711,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,111.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total value of $78,101.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,128,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,523.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,893 shares of company stock valued at $300,598. 3.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,159 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 6,330 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 123.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 90,540 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50,066 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 9,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company's lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent adult patients.