Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Announces Earnings Results

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Akebia Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $53.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.67 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Akebia Therapeutics’ conference call:

• Vafseo delivered strong commercial traction with Q1 net product revenue of $15.8 million (the highest quarter to date), prescribers up ~28% and patients on therapy rising ~60% QoQ to nearly 7,500, driven by dialysis organizations adopting observed (three‑times‑weekly) dosing and ~86% first‑refill adherence.
• Clinical evidence supporting Vafseo expanded — a post‑hoc INNO2VATE analysis published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology showed lower risk of death or hospitalization versus ESA and an economic analysis showed fewer hospitalizations and ~15% lower annual hospitalization costs; top‑line VOCAL data are expected by year‑end 2026 and VOICE in early 2027.
• R&D momentum continued — praliciguat is enrolling a Phase II FSGS study (24‑week UPCR primary endpoint), AKB‑097 (Ebri) will start a Phase II open‑label basket trial in H2 2026 across IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis and C3 glomerulopathy with initial data expected in 2027, and AKB‑9090 Phase I has been initiated with top‑line results expected in early 2027.
• Financial headwinds — total revenues declined to $53.5 million (driven by lower Auryxia sales) and higher COGS, R&D and SG&A turned the prior‑year profit into a $9.1 million net loss in Q1, although management reports cash of $162.6 million and expects sufficient runway for at least two years.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Down 20.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AKBA traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1.18. The company had a trading volume of 11,715,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,202. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1.38 and its 200-day moving average is $1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $316.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.97 and a beta of 0.35. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.13 and a 52 week high of $4.08.

Insider Activity at Akebia Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John P. Butler purchased 69,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 2.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKBA. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 13.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 176,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 20,499 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 137,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,724,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 123.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,652,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,016,000 after purchasing an additional 911,585 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AKBA. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.67.

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.