Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $1.62 and traded as low as $1.36. Akebia Therapeutics shares last traded at $1.38, with a volume of 1,291,840 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AKBA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akebia Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.67.

Akebia Therapeutics Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.03 million, a P/E ratio of -69.97 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $48.37 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 23.0% in 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. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 26.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 49.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 5.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 16.8% during 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 during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.