Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.6667.

A number of research analysts have commented on AKBA shares. Zacks Research lowered Akebia Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed 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 “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock opened at $1.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.50 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1.11 and a 200-day moving average of $1.31. Akebia Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.82 and a 52-week high of $4.08. 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 (NASDAQ:AKBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $53.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.67 million. Equities research analysts expect that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akebia Therapeutics

In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CFO Erik Ostrowski sold 56,019 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.11, for a total transaction of $62,181.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 697.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 18,037 shares during the period. Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akebia Therapeutics Company Profile

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.