Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Akebia Therapeutics from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th.

Akebia Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKBA opened at $1.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $284.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.33. Akebia Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.59 and a 1-year high of $2.48.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $56.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Akebia Therapeutics will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John P. Butler sold 46,489 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total value of $78,101.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,128,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,523.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Akebia Therapeutics news, CEO John P. Butler sold 37,733 shares of Akebia Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.52, for a total transaction of $57,354.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,091,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,548. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,128,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,576,523.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 187,893 shares of company stock valued at $300,598. 3.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akebia Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Ion Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $46,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $51,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Akebia Therapeutics by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,607,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 86,155 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 patients.