Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Given “Buy” Rating at HC Wainwright

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 334.78% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akebia Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Akebia Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Akebia Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AKBA stock opened at $1.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $366.21 million, a P/E ratio of -19.71 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.52 and a 200-day moving average of $2.37. Akebia Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.30 and a 12-month high of $4.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Malabre sold 49,524 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.39, for a total transaction of $68,838.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,152.10. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 470.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,646,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,771 shares during the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC bought a new stake in Akebia Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $10,516,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Akebia Therapeutics by 528.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,400,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,554,000 after buying an additional 2,018,547 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 1,324.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,916,692 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Akebia Therapeutics by 171.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is 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.